Rozen Maiden Abgefallen
by PatchyVoile
Summary: The Alice Game has never quite concluded itself. Dolls have been put to sleep, woken up, and fought. Again and again, this cycle has continued. However, in this era, with the awakening of the seventh doll and newcomers, will this change? Mix of Manga/Anime Universe. Includes more Rozen Maidens. (OCs)
1. Chapter 1 (Beginning)

Yuki-Koori, eighth doll of Rozen Maiden, was furious. Said doll, who had been asleep for the past sixty or more years had been woken up by—quite possibly—the most idiotic boy in existence. They were barely five minutes into their first meeting, and he had already attempted to call the police, tried to throw her out of a window, called her names which she had to admit didn't make any sense to her, and as of now he was curled up in the corner, bawling. Yuki-Koori stared, mortified, at the human who had answered to Hyoukai's call. Her artificial spirit twinkled beside her, offering a meek apology at the inconvenience. She sighed back at it, wondering what she should do.

Obviously, the first step would either be to find an at least somewhat less unsophisticated human to enter the covenant with, or maybe shape this one up a little. The last one would require more effort on her part, which she was not fond of, so she decided it would simply be easier to make her leave right now and find another. However, being the minx of a doll she was, she decided to scare the boy one more time. She smiled, holding out her hand, and a decently sized sickle materialized in her palm. She closed her fingers around it and walked up to the boy, who was still blubbering like an infant. The boy, who had heard her walk up to him, looked up in shock to see a sickle pointed right at his face.

"Suck it up, you baby!" she giggled, thumping him over the head with her weapon of choice lightly. Then, she noticed the look of confusion on the boy's face. Could he not understand her? She repeated herself once more, but received the same look of utter confusion.

"I-I can't...understand…you?" He stuttered out, his voice saturated with a heavy accent as he attempted to speak the same language as she. Then, it finally clicked. Yuki-Koori blushed terribly hard, gritting her teeth as she looked up to her artificial spirit, who trembled in fear.

"YA COULD'VE TOLD ME WE WERE IN JAPAN!"

Yuki-Koori, who successfully made the transition from English to Japanese moments ago, was still embarrassed. She sat at the window, glaring out of it as she cursed poor Hyoukai endlessly. She then glanced back over at the boy she had attempted to make a contract with.

"Can you at least tell me your name?" she asked, jumping down from the windowsill to face the boy. "Mine's Yuki-Koori, eighth doll of Rozen Maiden."

"I'm Takumi," he muttered, apparently still afraid of the doll. "But why won't you explain yourself? You know, I don't believe in living dolls or anything…"

"Then why did ya say 'Wind' to Hyoukai's letter?" she frowned. "What did you think 'Wind' meant?"

"I didn't say wind to anything," the boy frowned back at her.

Yuki-Koori looked up at Hyoukai. "Hyoukai, did this boy respond to the letter?"

Hyoukai twinkled, a 'yes' which could be understood by the maiden. Yuki-Koori glared at the boy, but just as she prepared to speak again, the door flung open to reveal a girl who appeared to be in her late teens. She had extraordinarily long brown hair and green eyes, which Yuki-Koori noted made her seem like the boy's older sister. Her guess was confirmed when the boy yelled at the girl to get out.

"Hold up! Did my prize come today? I've been waiting for almost two days," She shouted, exasperated. Then, her eyes found Yuki-Koori, who was staring up at her with awe. Her eyes widened considerably. "Nice doll, Takumi…"

"It's nice to meet someone who guesses 'doll' before 'demon spawn'," Yuki-Koori grinned up at the girl, who jumped back in shock. "I think YOU'RE the one who said wind!"

"This…this is my prize," The girl mumbled softly. "A freakin' living doll…"

"See, Hyoukai?" Yuki-Koori smiled up at her artificial spirit. "It was her, not the crybaby kid!"

The girl laughed. "Takumi, you started crying? You're almost eleven, you baby!"

"I did not cry, Takana!" the boy whined, throwing his fists in the air. "You're a tattletale, Yuki-Koori!"

"Oh boohoo, little Takumi," she stuck her tongue out at him, which only amused Takana further. "I should probably be getting down to business or something."

"Business?" Takumi asked. "Is this about the covenant again?"

"Yes," Yuki-Koori frowned. "I can't move for much longer on my own without entering a covenant."

"Okay, what do we have to do?" Takana, who Yuki-Koori noticed had become comfortable with the idea of a living doll much faster than any of her previous potential mediums had, asked. Yuki-Koori walked over to Takana, beckoning her to come down to her level. Takumi, who was now interested and a tad jealous, came closer as well. Yuki-Koori held out her hand, and a bronze ring molded into the shape of a rose materialized on her ring finger.

"Kiss the ring, one of you…preferably Takana," Yuki-Koori muttered the last part softly, but Takumi still picked up on it and pouted. "No offense, kid. I'll just get more energy from her, that's all."

Takana snickered, leaning down and kissing the ring. It began to glow a brilliant shade of pale blue, filling up the entire room with light. Takana and Takumi were both horribly blinded, and began to scream. Yuki-Koori held her ears in irritation, but still couldn't help but sigh in delight at how much more power entering this covenant had brought her. Warmth filled her body, which had always been unusually cold compared to her sisters'. Once the light finally died down, Takana clutched her hand in pain, groaning softly. Takumi tried to comfort her, but she just smiled weakly.

"Thanks for that," Yuki-Koori smiled. "Sadly, I have to be moving in here. All I need is my case, really. Oh, and food! Do you guys have cookies? I like Coca-Cola, too. Shinku says I should drink tea like the others, but I like soda better."

Takana was overwhelmed by the onslaught of information, but her confusion was quickly replaced by irritation when the screeching sound of a violin sounded outside. Yuki-Koori held her ears for a second, frowning, until it finally hit her. Unfortunately for her it was too late, and no less than a second later the window began to crack. She stood up, pushing the two humans out of the way. Soon enough the window completely shattered, sending glass flying in every direction known to man. Yuki-Koori snapped her fingers quickly, and two pillars of ice shot up from the floor around Takumi and Takana, protecting them from the glass. Once the onslaught of glass ceased, the second doll of Rozen Maiden, Kanaria, landed on their windowsill. Yuki-Koori narrowed her eyes, but grinned. She hadn't seen her elder sister in almost sixty years, but she knew if Kanaria hadn't changed at all since they'd last met, their "best enemy" type relationship would be as strong as ever.

"Long time no see, sis," Yuki-Koori smirked at her older sister, who returned smirk with the same amount of eagerness.

"Long time indeed, y'know!" Kanaria responded, surveying the room. "Eh? I was so sure your new medium would be here…"

Yuki-Koori snickered, gesturing to the pillars of ice in the corner of the room. "I couldn't have ya end up killing her right after I entered the covenant. Oh, and her little brother is there too."

"Anyway, Micchan is in the apartment a floor up, so I imagine we'll be seeing more of each other!" Kanaria grinned, motioning toward the broken window. "Which is good for the Alice Game, y'know?"

"Yep," Yuki-Koori agreed, smiling. "Now fix the window and get outta here. We'll continue this when the other sisters are awake. By the way, _are _any of them awake…?"

"Eh…Shinku is," Kanaria frowned, trying to recall. "But she's always awake, in every era…"

"Yeah," Yuki-Koori agreed, sighing loudly. "Any others?"

"Hina-Ichigo is," Kanaria finally remembered. "Shinku beat her in the Alice Game, but she won't take her Rosa Mystica…"

"Hina?" Yuki-Koori smiled, nostalgic feelings nearly choking her. "I remember her. It's a good thing Shinku might be getting soft; I want to see her and Hina again."

Suddenly, a soft voice groaned from behind the ice pillars. Yuki-Koori grinned sheepishly. "Maybe you should go now, Kana. I'll be seeing you around."

"I'll be waiting for your Rosa Mystica!" Kanaria said cheerfully, calling for her artificial spirit. "Pizzicato!"

Pizzicato, who had apparently been having a chat with Hyoukai, returned to its mistress. Kanaria jumped back out of the window, opening her parasol. Pizzicato followed behind her, trying its best to fix the window and keep up with her at the same time. Yuki-Koori smiled, satisfied, and lowered the pillars of ice. Takumi gasped, shivering, and Takana followed suit while grumbling a few choice words at the doll. Yuki-Koori started to apologize, but she then felt the fatigue of hunger wash over her.

"I haven't had a decent meal in years! Soda and cookies, Takana," Yuki-Koori ordered, sitting down on her case and relaxing.

"Is that what you call a decent meal?" Takana gagged, not being particularly fond of sweets and the like. "Yuck. Takumi, you get it!"

Takumi grumbled a little, but figuring he could also get some for himself, made no further complaint. The second he closed the door, Takana flopped onto the bed and busied herself with the television. Yuki-Koori, highly intrigued, looked along with her. She remembered the last time she was awake that televisions were a relatively new invention, and that her last medium had not had one. They had been on a walk one afternoon, sight-seeing. While crossing from the industrial zone into the shopping district, the first thing they'd seen was an advertisement for a little, ten inch black-and-white television. These were everywhere they went; only rivaled by the war posters displayed around. Sometimes Yuki-Koori, who had last been awake from the beginning to the near-end of the World War Two, wondered why these humans fought enough for there to even be a second. Shinku, who she had been sitting beside at the moment, simply reminded her that they fought quite a bit themselves, and that it was only fate that treated them so.

She'd had no idea why 'fate' had anything to do with it, but she simply nodded, knowing Shinku would probably have a more level-headed opinion than Suiseiseki or Kanaria. Yuki-Koori did not like stressing her mind on such issues, and—admittedly—would rather be having a snowball fight with Fumiko or tearing through her sister's library. At this thought, she frowned.

Fumiko, the ninth doll of Rozen Maiden, was Yuki-Koori's closest companion. And she, according to Kanaria, was not awake. She had always woken up shortly after Fumiko, so this was a shock once she realized it. She pouted, trying to get up on the bed beside Takana. Unfortunately for her, being the second shortest of the Rozen Maidens—only an inch or so taller than Hina-Ichigo—was proving to be a bit of problem. She huffed, latching onto the covers for dear life, and tried desperately to pull herself up.

Takana, who was too absorbed by the television to notice the doll's dilemma, only laughed in response to a joke that had been told. Yuki-Koori whined, slipping back down the covers and falling head-first onto the hardwood floor. At that moment, Takumi came back in, holding a large tray of cookies and a couple of glasses of soda. Setting them down on the floor, he finally noticed the little doll.

"Did you fall off of the bed?" he asked, bending down next to her and laughing a little. "I used to complain about being the shortest in the family, but I guess not anymore. Here you go."

He picked her up, setting her down beside Takana, who was holding her nose at the smell of the fresh cookies.

"Gimme!" Yuki-Koori gasped, forgetting momentarily about her hurting head and self-esteem.

Takumi pushed the tray closer to the doll, who eagerly grabbed and bit down into a cookie so big in comparison to her own head that she could barely fit her hands around the sides. Takana sat up, giving in and nibbling on the edges of one herself.

"It can't be helped," She'd said, flopping back down on her pillow.

"You know, I only fixed these up hoping you'd decide to explain yourself sometime or another." Takumi admitted through a mouthful of cookie.

"Oh, this again," Yuki-Koori groaned. "I was hoping I'd have one medium that would just…roll with it, I guess. But fine."

Takumi rolled over on his belly, eyeing her patiently. Yuki-Koori simply rolled her eyes and prepared the explanation for the seventh time in her existence. She wondered quietly to herself why she had counted, but began anyway. "Yuki-Koori, again, pleased to meet'cha. I'm the eighth doll of the Rozen Maiden, a set of dolls made by Rozen. I have seven older sisters and one younger. Maybe more, but I really hope not. Anyway, I was made to fight my sisters because my father, Rozen, wants the perfect little girl. If we do manage to win a fight, our prize is the soul of our sister, who we turn into a lifeless thing," here, she gestured to one of Takana's stuffed animals. "…Yeah, like that. Once we kill all of 'em, we get to see Rozen again, and he'll accept that one as his perfect daughter."

Takumi and Takana shuddered at the thought of killing each other just to see their own father. Takumi thought to himself that he'd have to give his father a hug when he got home tomorrow. However, for now he couldn't help but speak at how unjust as this story was. "But that's so stupid! Perfection doesn't exist, right Takana?"

"Right," Takana piped up. "Who does that guy think he is, anyway? If I ever see him, why, I'll just have to…"

Takana stopped here, as Yuki-Koori was laughing a little. "Perfection doesn't exist. I don't think it does, at least. It's kind of a suck-ish job, but my last medium's father was a sewage plant worker, so I guess I can't complain much."

"I wish I could be as optimistic as you, that's for sure," Takana sighed longingly, knowing this trait would make it more likely for her parents to treat her like the adult she wanted to be treated like.

"I couldn't really see over those ice pillars or anything, but was that girl one of the 'sisters'?" Takumi asked, remembering a few green curls and some yellow and orange clothing.

"Yup, sure was," Yuki-Koori smiled. "She's Kanaria, the second doll. We're pretty good friends…you know, for being told to kill each other and all."

"You don't all hate each other?" Takana asked, her pictures of angry little dolls beating each other up leaving her head. "That's a relief, I guess…"

"Oh, not at all," Yuki-Koori confirmed. "Some of us get along pretty nice. The twins, Kanaria and I…" She refrained from mentioning Fumiko for the moment, already a little depressed at the prospect of not having a library to raid for a while.

"Well, it's getting late," Takana noted, yawning a little. "Want me to set out a futon for you, Yuki? It might be a little big, but I'm sure we can roll it up a little."

"Nah," Yuki-Koori said, pointing at her case. "I sleep there."

"In that dark old case?" Takana frowned. "It'd be no problem setting out a futon, really."

"You humans are kind of different than me," Yuki-Koori reminded her medium, sticking her tongue out in a childish manner. "My case is really comfortable to me. I can dream there, but not really anywhere else. Beds are only comfortable to me when I'm awake…"

"Wait!" Takumi butted in, almost in a concerned tone. "Do we need to wind you back up again in the morning?"

"Very cute," Yuki-Koori said teasingly. "No, as long as I don't get killed, your winding up will keep me moving for a few years, possibly. I just sleep for a few hours, like you guys. Goodnight."

"Goodnight,"

Her case finally closed, and a few seconds later they heard soft snoring. Takumi looked at his older sister, obviously a little worn out from the day's events.

"How are we going to keep her from mom and dad anyway?" Takana asked, raising an eyebrow at the thought of her mom catching either of them, especially Takumi, playing with a doll. And the fact that it was a living doll only complicated the situation further. "Any ideas?"

"No," Takumi sighed, bouncing at the edge of Takana's bed. "She's really pretty…"

Takana laughed. "Crushing on a doll?"

Takana had to admit, Yuki-Koori was very pretty. Her long, silvery hair ran straight until it hit about three inches to the bottom, where it was the pulled into soft curls. Her bangs were straight and medium-length at her forehead, but closer to her ears they were long and pulled into more curls. Her outfit was very warm looking; it was most definitely designed for a winter-themed doll. Rested upon her shoulders and going down to her forearm was a thick, white capelet, fashioned almost like a winter coat. Underneath, however, was a relatively normal looking, Victorian styled dress. It was cut off at the stomach by a corset-resemblant set of grey cords, but at the bottom her white skirt flew out freely until it touched her ankles. And, to top the outfit off was a pair of snow boots and winter gloves, perfectly sized for her doll hands and feet. And, although she hadn't gotten a good look into her eyes, she remembered them to be a gray-ish blue color. Still, she couldn't just _not_ tease her brother a little.

In all her thinking, Takumi had run away back to his own room. She laughed, lying back down in her own bed. Things had just become more interesting, maybe even for the better. How unusual.

**A/N: Even though I'm sure no one is going to look at this or review it…Hello! I'd long ago thought about posting a story here with my dolls joining the 7 canon dolls, and I finally did it! –patting self on the back- I hope you come to love and enjoy my characters as much as you love the real Rozen Maidens, but if you don't that's alright! I have 6 chapters available at the moment, and I'll continue to write if you guys like it! Excuse my horrible use of commas and semi-colons and my frequent tense switches, though…**

**Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2 (Fire and Ice)

_Another shot fired into the night._

"_Fumiko, faster!"_

_Two maidens rounded the corner, one barely holding on to an old flintlock pistol, the other completely weaponless. Yuki-Koori and Fumiko had begun the Alice Game, with Souseiseki trailing not too far behind. Yuki-Koori, whose ears hurt after all the jabs at her and Fumiko's decision to teamup when the Alice Game was played strictly alone, had the disadvantage. Her sickle had fallen into an old building, and her ice control was terribly sloppy. She groaned as she took back off into the air, careful not to strike Fumiko with one of the many, terribly aimed pillars of ice shooting out of her palm. Souseiseki dodged them with ease, her shears working to their maximum strength._

_Another shot, and another. _

_A bullet barely grazed Souseiseki's shoulder, tearing at her collar and ripping the fabric on her sleeve completely. She grit her teeth, charging at the gun-wielding maiden who was desperately trying to imitate Yuki-Koori's catlike agility by jumping from building to building. Yuki-Koori yanked Fumiko by the back of the dress, pulling her close and covering the both of them in a thick layer of ice. Souseiseki's shears crashed into it not long after, the strength of the blow creating an eardrum-splitting crack. Yuki-Koori released the icy shield upon feeling Fumiko shaking furiously._

"_I-I hate your power!" Fumiko stuttered out, following Yuki-Koori over the infamous Big Ben. _

"_Back at'cha!" Yuki-Koori called behind her. "Souseiseki at seven o'clock…" _

_Another shot._

_Fumiko gasped as a flash of green blurred her vision. She looked around, gun held close to chest. Suddenly, she felt a tight grip around her waist. Careful not to drop her pistol, she looked down in shock. Around her waist was a thick, leafy plant vine. Confused, she glanced toward Yuki-Koori, but she was in the same predicament. _

"_Suiseiseki…?"_

"_This cannot go on any longer! Souseiseki, come home!"_

_Yuki-Koori smirked nonchalantly. "So, this is the older gardener we've been hearing so much about. Nice to meet'cha, sis."_

"_Suiseiseki," Souseiseki snapped, irritated with yet another fight being interrupted by her older twin. "Go home. I need to finish this." _

_Suiseiseki flinched, obviously hurt by her twin's sharp tone. She then looked toward the other two sisters, who were struggling furiously in her vines. She tightened them, her eyes narrowing in anger. "So, you little brats decided to form a team, did you? That's completely unfair, you dolts! Honestly, little sisters are such a pain!"_

_Fumiko gasped, her fingers twitching under the pain of the vines. She gagged, her trigger finger twitching violently. Knowing what was coming next; she closed her eyes and gulped._

_Another shot fired. _

"_NO, SOUSEISEKI!"_

Yuki-Koori shot up, her eyes wide with fear. She shook violently, the dream still playing rapidly in her mind. As much as she wished she could just assure herself it was only a dream, as her human mediums could, she knew that was never the case. Anything and everything that she would dream about was part of her past. The events of the dream, she remembered, had definitely actually occurred. They had happened many years ago, when she and Fumiko had been together last. Souseiseki, fortunately for the mass of guilty conscience that was Fumiko, had just barely dodged the bullet. The fight ended shortly after, after many threats on Suiseiseki's part.

Yuki-Koori sighed, having finally caught her breath, and opened the top of her case. It was a rainy morning, still very dark even though it was after ten. She noticed shortly afterward that she was alone.

"They must have gone to school…" Yuki-Koori reasoned to herself.

She stepped out of her case, eyeing her mess of curls atop her head in the large vanity mirror that she had parked her case in front of. Looking at the top of her head, she noticed some sort of cowlick had formed overnight. Her hair had always had new surprises for her, but this one would not do. She stood on the tip of her toes, feeling around Takana's dresser for a hairbrush. When she finally grabbed one, she frowned upon realizing her hand would barely fit around it. Being a doll, for Yuki-Koori, had its perks, but this definitely was not one of them. Deciding it would have to do, she wrapped her fingers around the handle as tightly as she could, running the brush through her head. Bending up and down frequently to get from top to bottom was proving to be a workout in its own right for the poor doll. Yuki-Koori huffed, cursing softly.

"Why'd you have to give me such long hair?" Yuki-Koori grumbled at her father, even though he was not here.

She imagined if her father were here, he would simply chuckle, setting her on his lap and running the brush skillfully through the hair he created. An exaggerated sigh erupted from her mouth, her chest panging with longing. She set the brush down dejectedly, hoping someone would be downstairs to make her breakfast. She took the stairs carefully, grunting every time she nearly fell. Once she did finally reach the bottom, almost fifteen minutes later, she sighed in relief as the smell of eggs hit her nose. The hungry doll climbed atop the wooden kitchen chair, and shortly after spotted a little note left for her.

"My Japanese still sucks," she muttered, squinting at the writing. She could see it was from Takana and Takumi, but she could only make out a few words. "We…school…breakfast…see you. Oh well, thanks for the food."

She propped herself up, picking up the baby fork rested beside the plate and digging into the warm, fluffy eggs. Downing a glass of orange juice right afterward, she noticed she no longer felt the panging in her abdomen. Instead, there was one in her head. One that she would dub 'boredom'.

"What am I even supposed to do today?" she griped, kicking her feet rapidly. One of her boots flew off immediately afterward, slamming right into a vase. She squeaked, running over to steady it, but it fell anyway. Yuki-Koori cringed, but realizing she hadn't heard the sound of shattering porcelain and money flying out of the window, opened her eyes to see it had landed on someone's pile of blankets.

She frowned, walking over to pick them up. "Takumi's such a baby."

Then, remembering her medium's brother, she also remembered the maiden she had run into yesterday. Kanaria was awake too, and just upstairs! She smiled, running back into Takana's room and grabbing her case. But, realizing one last detail, she couldn't help but frown. How was she supposed to get out? Yesterday, Kanaria had come through the window, but she couldn't do that. This was her medium's house, and she had to sleep here. With the window busted, and not being one who could fix it, she knew the room would get pretty cold. She walked back down the stairs, eyeing the front door. She knew this would probably lead to an elevator of some sorts, which could take her up to Kanaria's apartment, but how was that normal?

She eyed herself in the mirror. "I must be too _dolled_ up to pose as a child, ain't that right?"

Snickering at her own pun, she decided that she was willing to take the risk so that she could relieve the boredom plaguing her brain. She hopped up on the end table, huffing as she yanked open the door. Hopping back off of the end table and carefully eyeing the hallway outside of the door, she noticed her theory was indeed correct. Just across the hall was an elevator, sitting right there for her. She looked around carefully, but the hallway was quiet, even eerily so. Picking up her case and running down the hallway as fast as she could, she almost ran right smack into the elevator.

"Yeah!" she squeaked happily, grinning from ear to ear. Eyeing the elevator carefully, her smile fell when she realized she'd long forgotten how to work an elevator. Even if she had remembered, elevators had changed a bit since she was last awake.

She frowned, folding her arms across her chest. "Open sesame!"

The elevator door remained closed.

"Open door-ame?" she muttered, almost like a question.

The elevator door did not budge.

Just as she was about to throw her case against the thing, a voice spoke up behind her. "Here you go, little one."

She whirled around to find an older looking man behind her. He had opened the elevator for her! She squeaked happily, hopping inside. "Thanks, gramps!"

The elevator door closed, and Yuki-Koori held her head, knowing that it would surely feel funny afterward. Noticing the buttons with simply 'up' and 'down' in her time had been changed with numbers, she sighed again. Did Kanaria even mention what floor number was hers?

"Maybe she's right upstairs…" Yuki-Koori mumbled to herself. "If I'm on floor ten…I'll try eleven."

She stood on her toes, pressing the little button that said eleven. Sighing, she moved herself to back of the elevator. What was she to do if someone else walked in here? Act natural? How natural could she act when she had the appearance of a four year old whose father had far over-pampered her? The elevator began to move, and she gulped.

"Okay, Yuki, when you get to the floor…" she started, almost in a pep talk to herself. "Run like hell!"

True to her word, the second the door opened she ran out, case held tightly to her side. Unfortunately, her plans hadn't included running head on into a human in the hallway. The next thing she knew, she was staring at the ceiling, the whining of a human female not too far in front of her. She groaned, pushing herself up despite the throbbing in every inch of her body. In front of her looked to be some sort of office lady. She had been carrying bags and bags of clothing, which Yuki-Koori begrudgingly began to help her pick up along with whatever had fallen out. The clothes were small, and very frilly, much like her own. Yuki-Koori reasoned quietly that she must have some sort of doll obsession. Setting down the bags, she tried her best to quietly move out of the way.

"Ah…SO CUUUUUTE!"

Next thing Yuki-Koori knew, she had been scooped up into the woman's arms.

"Kanaria," Yuki-Koori growled softly to her elder sister. "Learn to control that woman."

"I've tried that, y'know," Kanaria muttered back bluntly, tossing another outfit into Yuki-Koori's face.

Yuki-Koori had, unfortunately for her, run into Kanaria's medium in the hallway. Although she had celebrated a small victory in her head at remembering what floor Kanaria might be on, being forced out of her comfy, snow themed ensemble to put on some other Lolita-esque dresses was proving to put a damper on her mood for the morning. She put on her most sour expression, holding up the outfit which Kanaria had so rudely thrown at her. It seemed to be Alice in Wonderland themed, which Yuki-Koori had to admit she had a soft spot for. When her previous medium Anja had been a child, she'd read part of the story to her every night before bed. She smiled, adjusting the straps on her undershirt and slipping on the dress over her head. Smoothing out the cleverly card-shaped apron, she turned to Micchan, who had occupied herself with setting up the camera equipment. She'd thought she'd seen something red run by her seconds before, but after staring so long she wondered if her eyes had been playing tricks on her.

"Micchan's a pro at photography, y'know," Kanaria stated proudly, but noticed shortly after the doll was occupied with staring in the direction of her medium. "Eh, what's wrong? What're you looking at so intently?"

Yuki-Koori snapped back into reality to look at her older sister, who was clad in what she recognized as a Cheshire Cat type outfit. It suited her mischievous personality well, but that concerned Yuki-Koori little at this moment.

"Did you see something run behind yer medium?" Yuki-Koori asked, eyebrows narrowing.

"Your grammar is pitiful as ever," Kanaria noted, grinning at the thought of having something else to tease or outright bully her younger sister about. Then, realizing what she had said, looked slightly frightened.

"Forget it," Yuki-Koori huffed. "Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me."

"Maybe," Kanaria sighed, but moved herself closer to medium, just in case. Yuki-Koori followed, but only to admire the green screen Micchan had set out.

"You both look adorable!" she cooed, trying her hardest to stay occupied with setting up the camera. "Oh, I hope I have enough money after this week to get _all _of them poster sized!"

Although Kanaria wanted to ask how she planned to fit all of those in her not so large apartment, she knew Micchan would find a way. Kanaria stood in front of the green screen, sitting on the stool where Yuki-Koori had decided to take a rest as well. Yuki-Koori, on the other hand, was still slightly paranoid. Stealing glances behind Micchan every now and then proved to offer little comfort. The shape, it had just been so…_doll shaped_ to ignore, she noted quietly as she folded her arms across her chest. Kanaria noticed this, and wondered if she'd seen anything else, but soon after Micchan's voice interrupted them from any form of thought with its sheer loudness.

"Damn camera!" she roared. "Take... a break. I need to show this damn technology who's boss!"

Yuki-Koori was alarmed, but figuring this would be a good time to plan her escape, took no further time starring and moved outside where the park was. Kanaria had followed suit, much to her chagrin, but knew deep down she'd probably understand her urgency to leave. After all, she must have to deal with these photo shoots almost every day. Yuki-Koori moved over to a small swing, climbing into it and swinging her legs lightly.

"Do you think that was one of our sisters?" Kanaria asked hesitantly, perching herself upon the top of the swing set.

"Hell if I know," Yuki-Koori deadpanned. "Do you honestly think any of our sisters would sneak around like that?"

Kanaria thought about this for a moment. "The Rozen Maidens aren't the only living dolls, you know."

"Are you suggesting there are other living dolls _here_?" Yuki-Koori raised an eyebrow at her sister's statement, stopping the swing and going up to sit next to her. "I think that's a little ludicrous."

"Why's that, huh?" Kanaria asked, eyeing the grey clouds in the sky piling up closer and closer together. She hoped Micchan's camera would be fixed soon, so they wouldn't have to be caught in that.

"No one would dare challenge the Rozen Maidens," Yuki-Koori finalized, although she was starting to doubt her own logic as well. "Ain't that right?"

"Yeah!" Kanaria piped up. "Especially Kanaria, the brainiest!"

Yuki-Koori ignored Kanaria's statement, seeing something of valuable looking interesting lying on the ground. "Hey, what's that?"

Kanaria looked at where Yuki-Koori stared and saw something bright and glittery looking just feet below them. "Perhaps it's a ring. But it's definitely Kanaria's ring now, y'know!"

"Hey!" Yuki-Koori whined, jumping off of the swing behind her. The next thing she heard upon landing in the faux sand was the bloodcurdling scream of her sister. She looked around frantically, and saw she was sinking into the ground below.

"What the hell?" she squeaked, grabbing Kanaria's remaining appendages above ground and pulling with all of her might. It proved to be of no use, and Yuki-Koori was pulled down with her.

She closed her eyes, but the fall was a short one. They both groaned as they hit whatever was below. Yuki-Koori sat up slowly, her head aching, and helped Kanaria off of the small pedestal she'd landed on.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Yuki-Koori said, even gesturing to their outfits to make sure the joke was understood. Her sister simply stared, annoyed.

"Anyway," Kanaria huffed out. "Where are we? It looks like an N-field, but not one Kana recognizes…"

"Like I would know," Yuki-Koori sighed, looking around. "What's with all the fire? It's freaking me out."

All around them, there were small pillars, and in each one was a lit candle. It was a nice looking place to Kanaria, but Yuki-Koori was slightly wary around fire—especially considering it completely contradicted her power. In the center, there was an abandoned throne-type chair, adorned in red, velvet like material. Yuki-Koori approached it with caution, Kanaria following carefully behind.

"I wonder," Kanaria murmured, trying desperately not to make the fear she felt evident in her voice.

Suddenly, Yuki-Koori's head shot up. In the chair had materialized what appeared to be a doll, much like them. Her hand rested gently upon her chin, she seemed almost asleep. Yuki-Koori stood, frozen, taking in the appearance of the newcomer. Her black hair, which lacked any fringe, was pulled into two small pigtails and shadowed by a brown beret. She wore a long, frilly brown dress that nearly touched her calves. Underneath were the standard stockings for leg joint covering with a pair of dark blue shoes, which Yuki-Koori noted from afar looked like high heels. Kanaria could no longer contain her fear, and was debating in her head whether or not to call on her artificial spirit, Pizzicato, to help her out of here.

"This isn't Wonderland, you know," the doll spoke up, a sinister looking smile making its way on her face. "I'd say it might be just a bit closer to Hell, especially for you two _mädchen_."

"Who are you?" Yuki-Koori ground out, holding back a twitch at her native language being used.

"My name?" the doll asked, looking like she had been expecting a different reaction. "I am Sekihi."

"She didn't introduce herself as a Rozen Maiden, y'know," Kanaria whispered to her sister, and then spoke aloud to the doll so as to prove to Yuki-Koori that she wasn't a coward. "Who are you representing then? Tell Kana or suffer the consequences!"

"No one," Sekihi giggled. "I'm sort of a loner, you see."

Kanaria looked slightly disappointed at the lack of fear her response had brought. "B-But…someone had to have made you, stupid!"

"Yes," Sekihi agreed. "But I don't remember who. I am more curious as to who you two are, actually."

Yuki-Koori sucked in an irritated breath at this doll's tenacity, but answered anyway. "Yuki-Koori, eighth doll of Rozen Maiden."

"Kanaria, the second doll of Rozen Maiden," Kanaria spoke out slowly; apparently too scared to remind her she was 'the prettiest and smartest of them all.'

"Ah, Rozen Maidens," Sekihi sighed out, her voice taking on almost a nostalgic tone. "I remember a couple of you bunch. Hm, there sure are quite a bit of you, aren't there?"

"Nine," Yuki-Koori spoke up weakly. "You've met some of our sisters before?"

"Yes," Sekhi smiled. "But I'll be damned if I remember their names. It was nice to meet you though, ciao."

"Eh?" Kanaria gasped out. "But Kana was so prepared for a fight! You even said this was going to be hell for us!"

"It's simply what you make it out to be," Sekihi reminded her gently. "You don't want to fightreally_, _do you, _klein puppe_? I assure you I'm quite a bit stronger than I seem."

"Kana is NOT—" Kanaria started, but was cut off by Yuki-Koori's hand being slapped over her mouth. Sekihi rose from her seat, taking off the cloak she wore over her dress and making her way over to the two. She smiled, holding up her index finger, which was now covered in a golden flame. Yuki-Koori's stomach churned violently at the sight, and she let go of Kanaria shortly after.

"And _klein puppe _became silent," Sekihi giggled, her focus now on Yuki-Koori. "If your name and reaction have any significance, I assume this…fire causes you fear?"

Yuki-Koori swallowed roughly, her Rosa Mystica burning brightly in her chest. "We're leaving now."

"Not now," Sekihi murmured softly. Yuki-Koori cringed, her sickle materializing in her hand as she prepared to fight the doll. Suddenly, the floor ripped violently under Yuki-Koori and Kanaria, sending them flying down below. Their screams were cut off quickly by the feeling of wet sand under their bodies, especially Kanaria's.

"Kana…" Kanaria groaned out quietly. "Kana thinks that was a rabbit hole."

"Yuki thinks so, too," Yuki-Koori grumbled, not able to resist poking fun at her sister's habit of referring to herself in third person. "Damn, what did Laplace do that for?"

"Ah, Micchan!" Kanaria remembered her medium, who was probably more than slightly worried about their sudden disappearance. "How long have we been gone, huh?"

"Do I look like I have a watch?" Yuki-Koori grouched. "Probably not _that_ long. Also, I need to be getting home before my medium and her brother get home from school."

"I'll get Micchan to send your clothes down soon," Kanaria said. "Unless I feel like adding a bit of dark clothes in the washing machine and they so happen to be in there with them…"

"Enough!" Yuki-Koori hissed. "Fine, I'm come back up with you then."

Kanaria paused, and stuck her hand under her chin as if she were thinking. "Kana thinks that doll is a Rozen Maiden."

"That so?" Yuki-Koori stopped, slightly surprised at this revelation.

"Yes," she frowned. "Dammit, Kana could have had her Rosa Mystica if it weren't for that old Laplace!"

"What makes you think she's a Rozen Maiden anyway?" Yuki-Koori asked, folding her arms stubbornly.

Kanaria paused momentarily to recollect her thoughts. "I wish you wouldn't question me! Don't you see, she spoke a little German, she has a power..."

"And yet she doesn't seem to have any earthly idea of who made her." Yuki-Koori reminded her.

"She's even met some of our sisters!" Kanaria sputtered out, trying desperately to keep her logic aboard.

"Supposedly," Yuki-Koori teased. "She didn't even remember their names."

"Ah, damn it!" Kanaria wailed. "Shut up, will ya!?"

Yuki-Koori simply laughed, making her way back upstairs. She would ask a more reliable source about the doll later, that being Fumiko if she ever woke up. But until then, she reminded herself to stay alert for rabbit holes.

**A/N: Ha, if you guys couldn't already tell, Kanaria is my favorite Rozen Maiden. She's usually the easiest for me to write, but if you think she's out of character please don't hesitate to let me know! If you do, though, can you tell me how I could fix this? Don't worry; Sekihi is the last of my characters that will be in this story, haha. If it's hard for you to keep up, I've created an eighth and ninth doll for Rozen Maidens, a medium and her brother, and a little loner doll. I promise; no more characters from me! **

**See ya!**


	3. Chapter 3 (Investigation)

_A small, delicate looking teacup lay across the room. Yuki-Koori approached it with sudden curiosity, being very cold as well as intrigued by its flowery design. Upon picking it up, she noted with delight that it was still full. She had never been particularly fond of tea, but she figured by the smell that it was a light green tea, which she could handle. As she brought the cup up to her lips, she heard a small crashing sound behind her. Whirling around, she saw the younger gardener twin, Souseiseki, had made a not so elegant entrance into her dream world. _

"_What do you want, fourth pain-in-my-ass?" she huffed, setting the cup down and eyeing the recovering doll warily. "A fight, I guess."_

_Souseiseki's expression did not change, although Yuki-Koori knew that she desperately desired to comment on her crude language. After a minute of silence, she replied. "I hadn't finished with you last time. I'm going to give you another chance to fight fairly, eighth doll. Without the ninth."_

_Yuki-Koori tried desperately to maintain a neutral expression, although her thoughts were turning into fearful ones. She and Fumiko had made a pact long ago to fight together, after running into the fifth doll for the first time. Fumiko had ashamedly admitted that she was not, and probably never would be, the strongest of the dolls. Yuki-Koori, although not aloud, realized the same. To preserve her ego as an older sister, she had taken Fumiko under her wing, teaching her little sister the small techniques she had learned herself. In the end, they had decided to fight together until the very end of the Alice Game. They had never discussed what would happen if they were the last two dolls standing, but Yuki-Koori eventually decided it would end how it ended, and nothing more. _

"_Fine," she sighed, edging closer to her sister. "I'm ready."_

Yuki-Koori jumped awake, thoroughly startled at yet another nightmare starring Souseiseki. She hadn't seen her in nearly eighty years, but that didn't stop the onslaught of unpleasant memories upon waking up for the first time afterwards. She sighed, rubbing her temples as her previous medium would do when he became angry or upset. It proved to do almost no good, so she simply sat silently and waited for the wave of anger to pass. Did she still hold a grudge against Souseiseki? No, not really. The years between eras was a long time to mend one's ways, and Yuki-Koori tried her best to stick to this, which Fumiko had more or less made her motto over the past few hundred years. Eventually, she decided it'd be best to come out of her case and face the day. Takana and Takumi were home for the weekend, and this became apparent to her as she opened her case and found herself inches away from a green eye. She shrieked loudly, alarming whoever had decided to come so close.

"I was only coming to check on you!" Takumi wailed. "Why are you screaming at me?"

Yuki-Koori calmed down at the voice of her medium's younger brother. "Oh, it's just you."

"Who did you think it was?" Takumi asked, but then changed the subject. "You were making a bunch of noise, so I thought you were having a nightmare."

"I was, I guess," Yuki-Koori muttered, slightly embarrassed, and closed her case. "Why are you home today?"

"It's Saturday," Takumi pointed out cheerfully, scooping the annoyed doll up in his arms. "I don't have to go to school today."

"Good for you," she sighed out, cringing internally at the boy's quick affection. "I don't like it when you do that. You're not even my medium and you're all touchy-feely."

"But you're a doll," he pointed out innocently. "Don't you like being held?"

"If the one holding me is a grubby little ten year old, then no," she said truthfully, but smiled. "I'll put up with it today, because I'm so nice."

Ignoring her insult, he continued. "Oh, what was your nightmare about? Last night I dreamt about showing up to school in nothing but a towel, it was embarrassing."

"You talk too much, that's disgusting," Yuki-Koori ground out after several seconds. "And, if you _have to know_, I was dreaming about one of my sisters. My older sister, Souseiseki."

"The younger gardener twin!" Takumi added, hoping his knowledge would impress the doll. Yuki-Koori was close to asking how Takumi knew this, but remembered that she had shared some knowledge with him the other day.

"Yeah," she confirmed as Takumi moved over to the couch to sit down. Yuki-Koori attempted to make herself comfortable in his lap before she continued. "She never did like the way Fumiko and I played the Alice Game."

"How did you play the Alice Game?" he asked carefully, not wanting to anger the doll.

"Together," she said nonchalantly. "We're not supposed to do that. Eventually we might have to fight each other, but it would be a damn miracle if we survived that long, really."

Takumi shifted uncomfortably at how easily she talked about her own death. "Dolls can't die, can they?"

"Not in the sense you're thinking of," Yuki-Koori spoke after a minute, remembering all of the war films her previous medium had watched. "It's more of a nap that never ends. We can still dream, but we never wake up."

"Really?" he spoke up weakly. "You're not kidding?"

"Why would I joke about something like that?" she grouched, although deep down she appreciated the underlying concern. "Our Rosa Mystica is our soul. We take each other's so we can become Alice. Without my Rosa Mystica, I'd kind of look like Raggedy Ann over there."

Takumi glanced over at the redheaded rag doll lying on the floor, and then back to Yuki-Koori. He could not picture something that was talking to him and ate food like she did turning into a plaything. He wished desperately Takana would be strong enough to keep Yuki-Koori alive throughout the Alice Game, but kept his mouth shut in fear she would hear. Yuki-Koori couldn't help but feel bad for the boy who had, for some reason, taken such a quick liking to her. The least she could do was offer some reassurance.

"Not all of my sisters are completely hostile," she said, remembering her visit with Kanaria the other day. "In fact, one of my oldest sisters and her medium live right upstairs, and she hasn't killed me yet."

"Really?" A voice yawned out from behind them. Takumi looked over to see his sister had just woken up and decided to make her presence known in the living room. "Maybe we know her medium, Takumi. Who is she?"

"Mitsu something-or-another," Yuki-Koori said. "I feel sorry for you if you've met her."

The two were silent for a moment before Takana spoke up. "Oh, yeah, the crazy woman who we see coming in with doll clothes every now and then!"

"That's her," Yuki-Koori confirmed, smiling. "She found me yesterday and started some sort of photo shoot with the two of us."

Yuki-Koori had stayed long enough for Mitsu to make a few small copies of the photos she'd taken after they'd gotten back to the apartment, and reached inside her dress pocket to hand them to Takana, who immediately ran off to find some frames to hang them in. Yuki-Koori, although slightly disturbed at this new side of her medium, still had her mind on her encounter with the loner doll, Sekihi. She had briefly considered searching around the house for an entrance to the N-Field, but had held herself back only on the knowledge that Sekihi probably would not be found so easily. She sighed, running her fingers through her bangs and trying to forget about the piercing red eyes that had somehow escaped her nightmares.

"I need some air," Yuki-Koori announced, hopping off of Takumi's lap. "Take me outside, little brother."

"Why don't you call me big brother?" he asked, standing up beside the doll. "I'm much taller than you!"

"And I'm four hundred years old," she reminded the boy, grinning. "Case closed. Get moving."

Takumi sighed, picking the doll up and quietly escaping the apartment. Once they had made it outside, Yuki-Koori had insisted on being allowed to run about on her own, much to the chagrin of Takumi, who was already getting several strange looks by anyone passing by. He prayed desperately he would not run into any of his classmates, who often visited the park only a few feet away. Although he assumed Yuki-Koori wouldn't want anyone to see her, she seemed to have no qualms of the sort, and even waved to a few parents and their children walking by. Some found her funny, others seemed frightened. Takumi was simply mortified.

"Don't you care if anyone sees you?" he asked quietly after he had finally gotten her attention. "They look so freaked out, you know that?"

"I don't know, the mothers seemed to like me," Yuki-Koori shrugged it off. "Our dad wanted us to be around other humans. That's why we were told to treat them kindly."

"I see," Takumi decided not to mull over it further. "But can you at least stay put for a while?"

"Why's that?" Yuki-Koori asked, a devious smile making its way on her face. "Got a little girlfriend? Don't worry; I won't get in the way."

Takumi, who was now convinced Yuki-Koori was out to make his life miserable, sat down on a swing, defeated. "Stupid doll."

"Stupid boy," she retorted, sitting down on the swing beside him. "I suggest you be careful."

"Why's that?" Takumi jumped up, expecting to see a spider dangling beside him. "What happened?"

Yuki-Koori looked up at the darkening sky as she kicked her feet lightly. "I met another doll here yesterday. I have no idea what she wants or what her intentions are, but I don't like her. She brought me down to her N-Field against my will yesterday. Kanaria was there, too."

"Is she one of your sisters?" Takumi asked, sitting back down on the swing carefully.

"I don't know," she frowned. "She claimed not to have known who made her. I need to talk to the others, but I have no idea where to find them."

"I could help," Takumi offered eagerly. "I know my way around the city pretty well."

"No thanks," Yuki-Koori cringed at the thought of coming across the younger gardener twin, or even the eldest doll, Suigintou. "It's a little too dangerous. I'll only be gone for a little while. I can't last long without Takana around."

Takumi look put-off, but figured it would be a good time to get away from the strange glances being thrown their way. "Come back in time for lunch, though. And don't get hurt."

"I'll be fine," Yuki-Koori waved it off. "Hyoukai!"

Takumi jumped as the little glowing orb appeared in front of him in less than two seconds flat, and ran right back into the apartment, calling out for Takana the whole way. Yuki-Koori laughed out loud, grasping Hyoukai gently in her hands. As much as she loved rubbing it in Takumi's face that she didn't care if people saw her, she knew it would be a little more than plain curiosity if they saw her artificial spirit floating about.

"Don't complain," she scolded the little orb as it tried angrily to jump out of her cupped hands. "We're going to look for the others."

"_Are you beginning the Alice Game already?" _ The spirit questioned, surprised.

"Not really," she said. "I'm looking to see if any of them have met that doll, Sekihi. But one of them will try and start the Alice Game, I'm sure."

"_Try not to lose your quick foot, mistress." _The spirit seemed wary of its mistress's blatant disregard for most rules Rozen had given, but knew it could do nothing to change her mind. She had always been a headstrong doll.

"Whatever, Hyoukai," she sighed, wondering silently why only one of her feet was quick. "Do you have any information for me?"

"_Not on the doll," _it reminded her. _"But I might have some information on the whereabouts of Shinku and Hina-Ichigo."_

"Are they rooming together?" Yuki-Koori asked, slightly surprised. "I think Kanaria said something like that a while ago, but I didn't believe her."

"_It looks to be so," _the spirit said simply. _"Come, mistress, this way."_

Yuki-Koori was beginning to become self-conscious at all the stares she was receiving. As she scaled around a neighboring pool, she frowned at Hyoukai. "Am I that weird?"

"_Yes,"_ the spirit answered, more out of spite at being held than anything else. _"Very weird, in fact."_

Yuki-Koori simply clenched her hand tighter around the spirit and continued on, the house in question not too far away by this point. She remembered Shinku quite well, as she was the reason her morals and thoughts on the Alice Game had changed, even if it was indirectly. She did not remember Hina-Ichigo quite as well. The last time they had been together, they were living in France, and Hina-Ichigo had often refused to leave her medium's side long enough for Yuki-Koori to get to know her. They had fought once, but it had gone almost no where before Hina-Ichigo had insisted she return to her medium. Yuki-Koori had decided to think nothing more of it, other than she had been close to her medium. Still having sorely missed Anja, Yuki-Koori could not bring herself to purposefully keep Hina-Ichigo from her medium. She could only remember Hina-Ichigo as a clingy, weak child, but she hoped her perception of her older sister would change during this visit.

"Now, all I have to do is get through the window and their Rosa Mysticas are mine!"

Yuki-Koori jumped, shocked at hearing what appeared to be the voice of Kanaria nearby. She looked up, only to see the doll looking right back at her, equally as shocked—if not more.

"What are you doing?" Yuki-Koori asked hesitantly, climbing up on the windowsill next to her.

"Alice Game," Kanaria answered meekly, embarrassed at being caught during one of her master plans. "What are _you _doing here, huh?"

"I was going to talk to Shinku and Hina-Ichigo about the loner doll," she answered, wondering quietly if Kanaria thought it worth it to save her feeble attempt at beginning the Alice Game for another time so they could uncover the doll's identity. "Care to join me?"

Kanaria looked to be contemplating it for a moment. "Fine, I'll join you, but only because Kana wants to know where that rotten doll came from, too!"

Yuki-Koori smiled, satisfied. "Maybe we should take a more polite entrance, though."

Kanaria sighed, climbing down from the window as Yuki-Koori followed closely behind. Yuki-Koori led the way to the front, ringing the doorbell as she thought would be more polite than banging on the front door. When no one answered, Yuki-Koori frowned. Wasn't it standard procedure to open the door if the bell was rung? She glanced up at one of the few windows around the house, and noticed a petite figure with her hand against the glass. She squinted for a moment, trying to shield her eyes from the sun, which was just beginning to peek out of the massive cloud formation. She took a step closer, only to lock eyes with the piercing, blue-eyed fifth doll of Rozen Maiden. She almost seemed to have been expecting her, having no traces of surprise written on her face. Suddenly, the door swung open right in front of them. Yuki-Koori jumped back, surprised, but decided to approach it with caution. As she slowly edged inside, she noted the house was strangely quiet for two Rozen Maiden dolls to be living there. Kanaria had tried to keep her proud demeanor, but was quickly reduced to a frightened little doll at the prospect of running into Shinku.

Upon gazing behind the door, she noticed Hina-Ichigo had grabbed an umbrella out of the basket beside the door and opened it herself. As Hina-Ichigo locked eyes with her older and younger sister, one of which she was slightly less familiar with, she couldn't help but wish Shinku was here, especially if one of them had intentions of fighting.

"Nice to see you again, Hina-Ichigo," Yuki-Koori started off awkwardly, edging back towards the door's opening.

"You're the eighth doll!" Hina-Ichigo shouted, almost like she had been trying to figure it out the entire time. "And you're…Kana…something!"

"Kanaria," Kanaria growled, wondering if it was the maiden's way of ridiculing her by constantly forgetting her name. "Remember that name, y'hear?!"

Before Hina-Ichigo could respond, Shinku had made her way downstairs, and was eyeing the visitors critically.

"Yuki-Koori, what on Earth are you doing here?" Shinku asked, almost unable to keep up her cold mien out of sheer surprise. Shinku had not seen the eighth doll in so long that she had almost forgotten her existence completely. They had not been on good terms the last time they'd been together; perhaps she wanted a fight? But if that was so, why had she made such a peaceful entrance?

"I know, it's sudden," Yuki-Koori laughed awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably on the balls of her feet. "But I needed to discuss something with you lot, and I heard you and the little one were nearby. Oh, and I brought the troublemaker Kanaria, too."

"Kana is not a troublemaker!" Kanaria spoke up, but was quickly silenced by Shinku, who had just now noticed her behind Yuki-Koori, where she had taken refuge from Shinku's cold gaze.

"Come inside," Shinku offered after a moment, sensing no need to start a fight. Perhaps what the eighth doll had to discuss was of some importance. She led the three dolls to the couch, where they awkwardly fit on only two out of the four cushions. Kanaria had opted to stay on the floor, still wary of Shinku, and was now contemplating escaping with some of her dignity left.

Once they were settled, Yuki-Koori began. "Have any of you met a strange, loner doll?"

Shinku's eyes widened slightly. Could she be talking about Suigintou?

"Suigintou!" Hina-Ichigo piped up. "She came just yesterday, didn't she Shinku?"

Before Shinku could reply, Yuki-Koori spoke up. "No, not Suigintou. This one says her name is Sekihi. Kanaria and I ran into her yesterday after she forcibly took us down to her N-Field."

"I have never met such a doll," Shinku said quietly. "Does she know us?"

"She claimed to have met some of our sisters," Yuki-Koori remembered. "But she doesn't know who created her."

The four were quiet then. A doll, one who claimed to have met some of the Rozen Maidens, but was not one herself, and had no idea who had made her. It was a lot to think about, Yuki-Koori supposed. Shinku sent Hina-Ichigo off to prepare the afternoon tea, which Yuki-Koori raised an eyebrow at, but said nothing further. Kanaria excused herself as well, but had completely forgotten her speech about how she was going to rob them all of their Rosa Mystica when she got back. Yuki-Koori cursed her under her breath, now being alone with Shinku, the only sound nearby being Hina-Ichigo's singing.

"Hina's still childish as ever," Yuki-Koori noted in a meager attempt to cut the silence that enveloped the room. "Ain't she?"

"Yes," Shinku answered simply. "Quite the noisy servant."

Yuki-Koori vaguely remembered something Kanaria had said about Shinku beating Hina-Ichigo in the Alice Game, but wondered silently how this had let up to servanthood.

"She didn't seem to know whether she wanted to be hostile or friendly," Yuki-Koori sighed, remembering the loner doll's strange, rapid switches in mood.

"Well, there is no point in discussing it further," Shinku cut in, grabbing the remote and switching on the television. "If she is not a Rozen Maiden, then there is no point getting worked up over an inferior doll."

"She could easily take one of us on," Yuki-Koori huffed, frustrated with Shinku's lack of concern. "She can control fire, Shinku!"

Shinku was taken slightly aback. "She has a power, then?"

Yuki-Koori nodded.

There was a pregnant pause.

"It doesn't change anything," Shinku said finally, turning her full attention back to the television as Hina-Ichigo skipped happily back into the living room holding a tray of tea and what appeared to be Ichigo Daifuku, her favorite treat. She plopped in between Shinku and Yuki-Koori, who were now scooted as far away from each other as the small couch would allow. Yuki-Koori thought for a moment it would be a good idea to excuse herself and leave, but could not find the strength to move herself off of their medium's couch, which was surprisingly comfortable for one so small.

Hina-Ichigo's childish prattling slowly became background noise as she fell asleep.

"I think she's dead, Shinku!"

"Nonsense, Hina-Ichigo."

"But she's not breathing!"

"We _are_ dolls, Hina-Ichigo. Honestly, I now believe I would prefer making idle conversation with Suigintou."

"You're so mean, Shinku!"

"Yuki-Koori! Get off of the couch this instant!"

Yuki-Koori groaned, rolling over right onto the floor below as Shinku's sharp tone rang in her ear. Looking around and rubbing her heavy eyes, she noticed she had fallen asleep on the couch. Hina-Ichigo was gazing down at her with a concerned look on her face. This was most likely due to the fact that she had banged her head on the table on the way down, but Yuki-Koori simply shrugged it off and sat up.

"Are you alright, Yuki?" Hina-Ichigo asked carefully.

"I'm fine," Yuki-Koori yawned out. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing particularly interesting, although I must question your lack of manners in a sister's home," Shinku spoke up, though the majority of her attention seemed to be fixed on the television.

"Shinku? Watching television?" Yuki-Koori mumbled, wondering how hard she had hit her head on the way down moments ago. "I never thought I'd see the day. It seems like a lazy hobby."

Shinku's eyes narrowed at her sister's statement. "Quiet. I have been kind enough to allow you to sleep throughout the entire afternoon on a couch that belongs to _me, _although I nearly missed Detective KunKun."

Before Yuki-Koori could comment on either the fact that she was far late in returning home for lunch or that she had no idea who this 'Detective KunKun' was, she heard someone coming down the stairs across the room. Glancing up, she saw a young boy slightly older than Takumi making his way down the stairs at a sluggish pace, almost as if he had just woken up from a long catnap. He locked eyes with her momentarily, but quickly shot an accusing glance towards Shinku, who made no attempt to explain her younger sister's presence.

"And just who the hell is she?" he finished the trip down the stairs in a pace quicker than Yuki-Koori had thought he could manage—or any human being for that matter – effectively triggering the fear that she so rarely showed. Before Yuki-Koori could compose herself, Shinku spoke up.

"I had expected as much when I brought Hina-Ichigo home, Jun, but your explosive reactions are becoming slightly less understandable as of late," Shinku said calmly, turning the volume up on the television in preparation for the verbal abuse war that was sure to ensue between her younger sister and medium. "This is Yuki-Koori, the eighth doll."

"Well she's not staying here. I have enough dolls to worry about," Jun said firmly, turning around and heading back upstairs. Yuki-Koori grinned wickedly, taking a large jump off of the couch cushion and wrapping her arm around Jun's neck, bringing him back down to the floor before he had even set foot on the first step. Hina-Ichigo, who thought it was more of a game than her sister purposefully beating on Jun, ran over to the two happily and joined in.

"Shinku!" Jun wailed, trying desperately to pry the two dolls off of him. "Control these rotten dolls!"

Shinku sighed. Having already missed the ending of Detective KunKun while trying to get Yuki-Koori off of the couch, she was in no mood to settle the disputes between her angsting medium and immature sisters. Nori, savior in ending all fights in the Sakurada household with her uncanny timing in coming home, walked into the front door, slowly taking in the scene in front of her. Yuki-Koori, who could feel the embarrassment building up in her chest, slowly stepped off of Jun and backed off, bowing her head in shame. Hina-Ichigo followed suit, knowing Nori's lectures were something she'd rather avoid in case she decided to take away the Hanamaru Hamburger for that night as punishment.

"Shinku, who's this?" Nori wondered aloud, alerting the shamefaced doll in question.

"Yuki-Koori," Shinku sighed out. "My younger sister."

Nori's face lit up instantly, and before Yuki-Koori could protest, she had been lifted about four feet in the air. "Is she living here too, Shinku? That would be great!"

"I already have a medium," Yuki-Koori coughed out through Nori's death grip. "Damn, Lacrosse suits you well; ya know that?"

"She comes with a foul mouth as well," Shinku added dully, pulling the pocket watch out of her dress pocket and glancing at the two hands. It was well after seven at night; dinner should have been ready by now. "Nori, please attempt to remedy your tardiness. I am already tired, and I have not eaten dinner yet."

"I'm sorry, Shinku," Nori offered. "Lacrosse practice ran late, and I had to stop and help this nice woman to the store…"

"Your good deeds are admirable," Shinku said, hopping off of the couch and smoothing her dress out. "But I would prefer you to be on time here. Hurry along now, I cannot remain awake forever."

Shinku then gazed at Yuki-Koori, motioning discreetly out of the door. Yuki-Koori looked slightly offended, but got curious as Shinku walked out herself. Hina-Ichigo looked on, pulling on Nori's dress to get her attention.

"She's going to yell at Yuki! Will she yell at Hina too, Nori?" she asked, looking slightly distressed.

"I'm sure Shinku wouldn't do that, Hina," Nori said as reassuringly as possible, wondering silently how the house would fare if Shinku and Yuki-Koori began to fight outside.

Yuki-Koori edged out of the front door, joining Shinku in the yard. Shinku was gazing up at the moon, which was extraordinarily bright that night.

"I'll head on home," Yuki-Koori offered quietly, wondering if it would spare her the verbal lashing that lay ahead.

"I have not brought you out here to discuss your atrocious behavior," Shinku said quietly, directing her attention to her sister as well as she could in the dim lighting. "I expected nothing less, honestly."

"What is it, then?" Yuki-Koori ground out after a minute, remembering Shinku's vicious casual insults well.

"Sekihi," Shinku spoke up. "I had not mentioned anything of her so as to keep from alarming Hina-Ichigo, but I assume since you have come in contact with her first hand I could share my knowledge on her with you."

Yuki-Koori sighed, relieved. If the doll hadn't instilled much fear in Shinku then maybe she wasn't as much to fear as she had previously thought.

Shinku cleared her throat lightly. "I had come in contact with her once. It was so very many years ago that by now hearing about her is truly strange. I have no honest ideas on who created her, as does she. She seems to be quite the old doll, though, perhaps hundreds of years older than us."

Shinku sighed before continuing.

"Her intentions seemed, at the time, not much to fret over. However, as you said, her 'mood swings' are something to worry about."

"Sure are," Yuki-Koori sighed softly, her knee joints becoming sore. "Do you think we should do something about her?"

"Nothing terribly drastic at the moment," Shinku pondered over the outcomes of this carefully. "However, I would like to speak with her. Perhaps I will visit the N-Field tomorrow."

Yuki-Koori laughed a little. "I don't suppose you'd like me to come with you?"

"If you could refrain from your earlier behavior, I would not mind the company," Shinku spoke carefully, knowing that if Sekihi had taken such measures so that she could pull the younger doll into her N-Field that perhaps she would be more likely to reveal herself again if she were with her.

"Sounds good," Yuki-Koori yawned out. "But I'm going to head home for the night. Take care."

"Goodnight, Yuki-Koori," Shinku said simply, turning around and heading back into the house. Yuki-Koori sighed, glancing up at the moon. Hyoukai floated lethargically around her, twinkling dimly.

"_Your motives confuse me, mistress," _the spirit spoke up weakly. _"Are we going home now?"_

"Definitely," Yuki-Koori yawned again, placing her hands on the back of her head lightly. "Say, Hyoukai, how much trouble do you think I'm in back home?"

"_I suppose Takumi is worried," _the spirit said, but changed topic quickly. _"Are you certain helping the fifth doll find Sekihi is safe?"_

"Shinku's strong," Yuki-Koori admitted bitterly. "I trust her."

The spirit found little strength left to argue, and settled on lying in Yuki-Koori's hand. Yuki-Koori trudged home, her mind filled with thoughts about the information she had just received. Tomorrow would be an interesting day; that was for sure.

**A/N: Uh oh, Yuki-Koori and Shinku partnering up? Poor Shinku…**


	4. Chapter 4 (Nine)

It was a library any bibliophile would envy.

Row after row, shelf after shelf, books lined each and every nook and cranny that one could fit. Organized by genre, some shelves the doll enjoyed dabbling in, and others she found herself slowly straying away from. It was, however, far from having the same shut in quality that a normal library of such a size had. The ceiling, the roof if you will, was made of what appeared a large, glass dome. Some days you could see only a few clouds floating by. Other days it would rain, or even snow. Sometimes the weather even became slightly nonsensical. Strawberries or even a few rose petals would rain down on the dome, and light up the whole library.

It all depended on who was there.

On this particular day, the skies were filled with large, grey nimbus clouds. It had been this way for the past one hundred and seventeen hours to be exact, but Fumiko had not noticed. As she could not tend to her library while unconscious and dreaming in her case, she had quite a bit of work to do before she felt it necessary to scout out her sisters and a medium for herself. While she had thanked the person who had winded her profusely, he didn't much seem medium material, and she further reasoned leaving him was alright because her library was so many years untended to.

Today, a Wednesday at about five in the morning if she could follow the old dial in the back of the room correctly, was the day she was due to clean out the Science Fiction section. Her artificial spirit, a lavender colored little one, floated around her nervously as she went into her sixth day of library management.

'_How about taking a look outside, mistress?' _the spirit, Bekanntheit, questioned nervously, although the doll seemed cheerful enough and quite healthy for a doll who hated venturing far from her N-Field.

Fumiko, who seemed to miss the point entirely, simply gazed up at the dome above and smiled slightly. "Cloudy again. I noticed, thank you."

'_That isn't quite what I meant,' _the spirit mumbled. _'I think it is time to make your presence known in the Alice Game this era.'_

Fumiko looked surprised. "That time already? I was sure I had only been in here for about a week, maybe two…"

'_You have,' _the spirit confirmed, but quickly moved on. _'But that is nearly a week too long. Save the library cleaning for later, and polish your guns.'_

"Have I wakened in the middle of it again?" Fumiko sighed softly, remembering that the last time she had woken up in the middle of the Alice Game, she'd had hell to pay from quite a few of her sisters, all claiming to have had some sort of message from their father. One she had, to her disappointment, not received, or remembered receiving.

'_Not really,' _the spirit chose it's next words carefully, knowing if it chose the right ones that the shut-in Fumiko might venture outside. '_But wouldn't you enjoy seeing Miss. Yuki-Koori again?'_

Fumiko froze at the mention of her older sister, the eighth doll. "Is she awake, Bekanntheit?"

'_Yes, and doing quite well,' _the spirit went on nervously, knowing not a thing about the well-being of the eighth doll other than the fact she had found a medium somewhere in Japan. _'I'm sure she misses you terribly, mistress.'_

Fumiko smiled thoughtfully. She hadn't seen Yuki-Koori in more than seventy years, but memories between the two maidens had held strong. She put down the book she had been holding back into the Science Fiction section, and brushed her hair so that she looked presentable when seeing her favorite sister again. Bekanntheit sighed, relieved that its mistress would finally be entering herself into the Alice Game.

"I can't wait to bring her in here," Fumiko prattled on as she ran across the library to the exit. "Do you remember? Last time I brought Yuki in here, she told me the library was really messy. And it was…but now it is almost completely organized! Although she'll probably just look for the picture books I keep; but I do keep them just for her. Are you listening?"

'_I'm glad you're excited, mistress," _Bekanntheit sputtered out after a moment. It had long ago stopped trying to convince Fumiko that the sister she cared for so dearly really would end up her enemy at some point, and instead encouraged their sisterly relationship, something that it knew made Fumiko happy. While Bekanntheit did not have many thoughts all its own, it knew that it would prefer seeing its mistress happy with her sisters than shutting herself into the library to further avoid playing the Alice Game as long as possible.

"It's something new, certainly," Fumiko admitted shyly, closing the door to the N-Field and eyeing the many others that she could see now.

Bekanntheit had succeeded.

"Um, Shinku, are we there yet?"

"For the seventh and last time, Yuki-Koori, we have no set destination until we find Sekihi. How on Earth do you expect me to know if we are 'there yet'?"

Shinku was sincerely beginning to regret bringing Yuki-Koori along with her in her search for the loner doll, Sekihi. Yuki-Koori had been unintentionally grinding on each and every nerve the doll had. More than once she had been tempted to drop her ladylike demeanor, shove Yuki-Koori into a random N-Field door, and leave her there. She sighed, trying to ignore her younger sister's tired, pouting expression. However much she wished she were able to express her distaste for having come in here before six in the morning as Yuki-Koori did, she knew she must make use of their time lest they become trapped in the N-Field without a medium. Briefly remembering the youngest doll, Fumiko, she wondered how she was able to stay in the N-Field for up to two weeks at a time without having to return home. Perhaps their father had given her the power to do so. The power of being the Rozen Maidens' professional shut-in, Yuki-Koori had joked once. Shinku almost envied Fumiko and her power, especially now that they were running out of time. Reaching into her dress pocket and pulling out her pocket watch, she noted they had about fifteen and a half minutes before they had to return home. Yuki-Koori glanced over her sister's shoulder, and although she could not read the time, she knew they were running out of it.

"I think we should just go home, Shinku," Yuki-Koori piped up after a moment. "I'm hungry."

"Perhaps you are right," Shinku sighed. "We don't seem to be getting anywhere, and it is almost time for breakfast."

As they turned around and prepared to head home, Yuki-Koori found herself face to face with a giddy looking, red-eyed doll hanging upside down off of a blue door.

"Found her," Yuki-Koori spoke up weakly.

"What?" the loner doll looked confused. "We were playing hide and seek?"

Shinku eyed the doll warily. "No, we were simply looking for you. I would like to speak to you."

Sekihi seemed as if she were struggling with her thoughts for a moment before she spoke. "Ah, I remember you. I fought with you once, Reiner Rubin. You were strong."

"It can't be helped," Shinku said dully. "I don't put up with such childish games. For such an old doll, you behave more appallingly than Hina-Ichigo, or even this one here."

Sekihi pouted. "What is this even about? Did you scout me out just so you could tell me off?"

"We scouted you out because you yanked Kanaria and me down to your N-Field yesterday," Yuki-Koori grouched, folding her arms across her chest for added effect. "I'm only here to ask what the hell that was for."

"The little second Rozen was at fault there," Sekihi shrugged. "Saying she was the strongest doll and all. It's definitely not true. I predict that large ego will be her downfall, you know that?"

"Leave the second doll out of this," Shinku spoke sharply. "Give us your real reasoning. We must be returning home soon."

"Really?" A devious smile curled around her lips, sending Yuki-Koori cowering behind Shinku. "Don't even time for a little fight? I can take on two, I really can. Don't worry."

Shinku glanced worriedly at her pocket watch, which was now hanging out of her dress pocket by the chain where she had dropped it in her haste. "We don't have time. Be on your way now, Sekihi."

"I'm not particularly fond of casual encounters," Sekihi said flatly. "Someone has to get hurt. Or perhaps die?"

Before Yuki-Koori could speak, Sekihi and Shinku had begun to fight, the sweet smell of burning roses leaving all three dolls intoxicated by the smell. Yuki-Koori jolted upward, using whatever adrenaline she hadn't already worn off after Sekihi appeared in front of her to jump into the fight, encasing the doll in an icy barrier after a placed sickle to the gut. Sekihi groaned loudly, but broke out of the icy chamber less than three seconds later, leaving Yuki-Koori shocked out of fighting momentarily. Shinku jumped in, cringing as her shield of red petals burned in front of her. Yuki-Koori had been right. Being able to manipulate such an element truly was frightening. Before she could think to draw it back, Sekihi was charging at Yuki-Koori, thick bladed knife in hand. Unable to see the doll over the smoke of her shield burning, she choked out for her sister to run.

The next two seconds passed extraordinarily slowly, and as the burning of her shield ceased and the smoke begun to clear, the sound of a gunshot and a crazed howl pierced her ears.

The last of the smoke disappeared, and the sight in front of her now was one to behold. Yuki-Koori was cowering on her back, Sekihi was grabbing her arm and howling in pain, and in front of them both stood the aloof ninth doll of the Rozen Maidens.

Fumiko was awake.

The ninth doll seemed angry, most likely due to the fact that a strange doll had held a knife to her favorite sister, but the look suddenly vanished as she turned around to face Shinku, who had gone unnoticed until now. Fumiko smiled warmly, which Shinku could not return. If anything, she was preparing for Sekihi to recover and start blasting fire in every direction known to man.

"It hurts," the doll hissed, but realizing that three maidens still stood around her, ignored the pain and stood up. "Alright, you, I'm not going to touch your precious sister. Shoot again and I'll really unleash Hell."

"I'd appreciate that," Fumiko drawled, smiling politely. "I _am_ out of practice."

Sekihi simply smiled back, although slightly more sinister than the maiden she was receiving the hostile words from, and vanished. Shinku's eyes flew to her pocket watch, which showed that they had less than two minutes to return home now, and then to the ninth doll, who was edging toward the recovering Yuki-Koori with her arms out for a hug.

"We must be leaving. Hurry along, Fumiko, there is no time for a reunion now," Shinku spoke quickly, motioning the way out of the N-Field, which still smelled of burning roses where they stood. Fumiko quickly helped Yuki-Koori onto her feet as she sputtered something about life saving, and they exited the N-Field with only thirty seconds to spare.

"And then…you saved my life!"

"Um…I remember. Are you alright?"

"You saved it! You're…my hero!"

"Shinku, is she alright?"

"Have you tried slapping her yet? She seems delirious."

"Isn't that your job?"

"If I must."

The next thing Yuki-Koori was aware of was a dainty, pale hand striking her on the cheek. She looked around in shock, and noticed Shinku and Fumiko were sitting around her. They appeared to have ended up in some sort of park-like area a few miles out from the city in their haste to find the correct door. She sighed, relieved that Sekihi was nowhere to be seen, and leaned back into the pleasantly cool, dew-stained grass, closing her eyes.

"I was waiting for you to wake up, Fumi," Yuki-Koori yawned out after a moment. "Who wound you up?"

"I don't remember," Fumiko admitted. "I left before forming a contract."

Shinku frowned. "Why on Earth would you not form a contract with the one who wound you up, Fumiko?"

"I had library cleaning to do!" Fumiko sputtered out in a feeble attempt to defend herself. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to maintain my beautiful library?"

Shinku raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. "No, but I _do_ know how difficult it will become to fight without a medium."

"I suppose you have a point," Fumiko said quietly. "Who wound you two up, then?"

"Sakurada Jun," Shinku said simply, eyeing the rising sun over the tall, sky scraper resemblant buildings in the distance. "A middle school aged boy. Very noisy, but good human, I suppose."

Fumiko nodded, and then turned to Yuki-Koori, who looked to be deep in thought. "What about you, dear? Have you found a medium?"

Yuki-Koori nodded, smiling. "Her name is Takana Moriya. I spend more time with her little dolt of a brother, though."

Fumiko smiled back. "I see. In that case, would you mind bringing me in to meet them? I would love to meet Sakurada Jun, too."

Shinku stood up. "I must be returning home. I am very late for breakfast. I suppose you could come along, Fumiko."

"Food," Fumiko groaned out. "I would love to eat. I have hardly touched food since I woke up."

"Idiot," Yuki-Koori scolded lightly. "You've gotta come out of that library sometimes and eat."

"I know," Fumiko wailed. "But… my books needed organizing, you said so yourself!"

Yuki-Koori laughed, yanking Fumiko along behind Shinku as they returned back to the Sakurada household, all thoughts of sinister, red-eyed dolls behind them.

"But, Yuki-Koori, I'm scared!"

"But, Fumiko, MAKE A CONTRACT WITH HIM!"

"You're so mean…what do I do if he says no?"

This push and shove had been going on for nearly twenty minutes now, and it was frustrating Yuki-Koori to no end. Fumiko was a timid doll, although it didn't show too often around her sisters. More often this irrational shyness was shown towards the humans in their lives. And sometimes, Yuki-Koori wasn't able to force Fumiko to make a contract. It worried her, especially when they were apart. Yuki-Koori had wondered quite often when they were separated if Fumiko had pushed her shyness aside and found herself a medium, but now she had almost come to expect her lack of one in each era.

"Why would he say no?" Yuki-Koori grouched, yanking the unaware Takumi out of his bedroom and dragging him into the living room. "Takumi! Listen up!"

Takumi, who was still frozen in shock, could only nod.

"You couldn't say no to this face, could you?" Yuki-Koori smiled, walking over to the mortified Fumiko and grabbing her by the cheeks. "She's pretty cute! Minus the hair…do you own a hairbrush, Fumi?"

"I do…" Fumiko mumbled out through squished cheeks. "But I misplaced it in my library."

"Takumi could get you a new hairbrush!" Yuki-Koori piped up. "That is, if you make a contract."

Fumiko groaned quietly at her sister's obstinacy, right as she was. She _did _need to form a contract soon. As many eras as Fumiko had awoken in, she had noticed that in this era that already quite a few more of her sisters were awake than usual. According to Yuki-Koori, sisters one, two, five, six, and the both of them were already awake. Although most of the awakened sisters weren't hostile ones, she knew that could change in an instant. The maiden's mindsets were incredibly fragile, some more than others. One supposed word from Father could send a sister docile as Suiseiseki claiming that she was destined to defeat them all right that minute. Although Fumiko couldn't help but be slightly amused at the thought of Suiseiseki saying something like that, she knew it were possible. Stranger things had happened. That being said, Fumiko realized it was definitely the time to settle down somewhere and make a contract.

Because both Yuki-Koori and Fumiko had been a present to Rozen's niece, and lived there for so long, Fumiko often found herself settling down with Yuki-Koori in every era. They often shared a medium, which more often than not ended up badly for the both of them and their medium. And because of this, Fumiko often became reluctant to make a contract. With anyone.

But here was a different opportunity. While most of their mediums were the only child in the family—like Anja – or simply grown adults, in this household there were _two_ young children. Did Fumiko want to take advantage of this and form a contract with Takumi? She felt now that it was her only option, especially since Yuki-Koori had her in some sort of death grip.

"Alright!" Fumiko squeaked out. "I'll make a contract with him!"

"I didn't really have a say in this, you know…" Takumi spoke up quietly, only to be silenced by Yuki-Koori's icy glare.

"You don't get a say, servant," Yuki-Koori spat in a weak impersonation of Shinku, but couldn't hold the cold mien for long. "Don't even act like you're against it, Takumi. You were jealous when Takana formed a contract with me, I remember!"

Fumiko frowned slightly, but Yuki-Koori only gently pushed her towards Takumi in response. As much as she wanted to run away, she knew it was far too late for that. As she held her dainty hand out towards the boy, the bronze ring she hadn't seen in so long appeared on her finger. Takumi hesitated slightly, remembering the pain Takana had been in when she had kissed the ring, but eventually gave in. He, after all, just _had _to be tougher than his sister. However, soon after he found that Takana had not been exaggerating. There was a severe burning running throughout his left ring finger, and he could feel all the energy he'd had after downing so much coffee slowly disappear. Fumiko, on the other hand, was on cloud nine. She had not made a contract in the past two eras, so long ago that she had almost forgotten how wonderful entering a contract with a human felt. All the energy she had used trying to clean out her library by herself was returning to her, if not even more. As the purplish light from both the newly formed ring and the old slowly disappeared, Takumi plopped onto the couch and promptly fell asleep.

"Told you," Yuki-Koori started, snickered softly. "You are a high maintenance doll."

Fumiko approached the couch, peering over at Takumi worriedly. "Will he be alright?"

"Sure he will," Yuki-Koori grinned wickedly, pulling Fumiko into another death grip. "D'aw! Fumigator's still a softie for the humans!"

Fumiko sighed, unable to protest much. "Yes, I suppose I am. And I detest that nickname, Yuki-Smoori."

"Oh, hush with your big words…" Yuki-Koori mumbled, slightly embarrassed. "At least Fumigator makes sense in _some _language."

"But I hate it," Fumiko whined. "I don't even kill most bugs, my shoes are too small!"

Yuki-Koori only laughed. "Man, I missed you!"

"I missed you too," Fumiko replied, smirking devilishly. "But now I'm not so sure, since you're still using that dreaded nickname…"

"You used mine, too," Yuki-Koori grumbled. "Hey, you still look about the same."

"Well, yes, I am a Rozen Maiden…" Fumiko shrugged. "Were you expecting me to look any different?"

Fumiko was a pretty doll, albeit not enough to achieve Alice-like perfection. Her short, platinum blonde locks hung wavy and unstyled in the back, and pulled into loose curls at the front. Her fringe was long and thick, almost touching her eyebrows. Her clothes, although dirtied from six days of library cleaning, were still in decent shape. She was wearing a deep purple, kimono dress, with intricately placed roses patterning it well and a black bow around the middle and matching black underskirt. And, the shoes that—apparently – could not kill bugs, were a pair of long, black boots that were tied up at the front, and around the side of her head rested a small, purple and white bow.

"You look…" Yuki-Koori struggled for a compliment. "You know what? Let's just bathe."

"That bad?" Fumiko laughed a little. "I didn't think my library could even gather so much dust and dirt, to be fair."

Yuki-Koori turned her head dramatically, even holding her nose. "Just go, Fumi! Yuck!"

"Fine!" Fumiko growled.

Yuki-Koori smiled triumphantly, leading the way into the bathroom. It was a nice bathroom, especially for one installed in a relatively small apartment. The bath was rather large, but Yuki-Koori reasoned that if they didn't fill the bath up all of the way then it would be alright. After undressing and settling into the warm water, it became painfully silent. Fumiko was too busy relishing in the feeling the warm water brought, while Yuki-Koori was off at the other side of the tub, playing with what appeared to be a toy boat. Eventually, Fumiko couldn't hold back her laughter at what Yuki-Koori thought a boat should sound like, and that was the end of all quiet between the two.

"What!?" Yuki-Koori sputtered out. "Isn't that what a boat sounds like?"

Now Fumiko was doubled over with laughter. Yuki-Koori, who was confused as could be, could only stare at her younger sister in shock. Fumiko was eventually able to control herself, even adding a few coughs to cover up the remainder of the giggles.

"More like a train!" Fumiko shook her head lightly as she pointed this out.

"I was close enough," Yuki-Koori huffed, turning her head to hide the side to hide her embarrassment.

"Yes, very," Fumiko yawned, grabbing at a towel hanging on the rack beside them. "Say, do our mediums keep extra clothes in this house? We do need to wash our clothing, after all."

"Sure," Yuki-Koori said, remembering the large door where Takana kept all of her clothing at. "But they're all a little big."

"It'll have to do," Fumiko finalized, walking the past the snoring Takumi and into Takana's currently vacant room. Yuki-Koori threw open the double doors leading to Takana's closet, eyeing the many clothes that lay before them. Most of them, as Yuki-Koori said, were far too big for them. But Fumiko, ever the quick thinker, called on Bekanntheit, who soon appeared in front of them.

"Hey, long time no see," Yuki-Koori smiled at the lavender colored spirit, who shone brightly in response. "What's Bek going to do, Fumiko?"

"He could shrink the clothes for us for a little while," Fumiko smiled, throwing one of Takana's white sundresses at Yuki-Koori, knowing she'd appreciate being able to wear her favorite color. She herself simply grabbed one of Takana's T-Shirts and a purple skirt, pulling her slightly damp bloomers on under it. After Bekanntheit did its job, Yuki-Koori and Fumiko found themselves feeling extremely lethargic. Moving over to Takana's bed, the two decided now was the time to catch up, alone.

"Bekanntheit informed me the Alice Game is to begin very soon," Fumiko started off quietly. "Do you think he's right, Yuki? Honestly, I don't think I can fight much longer."

"Hm?" Yuki-Koori glanced over at her sister, slightly surprised. "Can't fight anymore? Why?"

"I'm tired of fighting," Fumiko sighed softly, pushing her arms around the back of her head, which was deep into Takana's pillow. "Aren't you, Yuki?"

"I think we all are," Yuki-Koori eyed her sister oddly. "What's with the attitude? I don't remember you being so upset over the Alice Game in the past."

Fumiko shook her head. "No, I'm alright. I was just thinking earlier, and my thoughts cannot help but stray to the Alice Game once in a while. You understand, don't you?"

Yuki-Koori laughed a little in a meager attempt to lighten the mood. "Well, yeah, but how about thinking about all those books in your library instead? You did save the picture books for me, right?"

Fumiko smiled. "I did. I think there just might be a few more, too."

"That's good," Yuki-Koori yawned, nuzzling into Takana's pillow, next to Fumiko. "Damn, Sekihi took all the energy right out of me."

"I see," Fumiko laughed. "Should I get our cases?"

Yuki-Koori frowned a little, remembering the dreams she'd been having lately. "I'd rather sleep here. Our dear sister Souseiseki has been the star of my nightmares since I was wound this era."

Fumiko remembered Souseiseki well, albeit mostly due to the fact that they had always been on such poor terms. Although the initial decision to fight the Alice Game together had come from Fumiko herself, she couldn't help but notice that Yuki-Koori's unpredictable mouth had landed her in an even more tense state with the fourth doll.

Her mind, which was slowly flipping back into redolent mode after finally leaving her library and engaging in some form of social interaction, was now filled with thoughts of her last fight with the fourth doll. Although she wondered mildly if she were awake, part of her hoped that she did not wake up this era. Even if they were to mend their relationship, she knew her artificial spirit was usually correct when it predicted Alice Game fighting. Did that mean Souseiseki really was awake? Or Suiseiseki, as well? That would mean only the seventh doll was due for awakening. Even through her tired mind, Fumiko knew she had never come in contact with the seventh doll. But, for all of their sakes, she hoped this mysterious sister was lacking hostility.

Finally realizing she had never answered to Yuki-Koori, she looked over at her, preparing to apologize. However, Yuki-Koori had fallen deeply asleep, even snoring lightly.

"Sleep well," Fumiko murmured, pulling the heavy quilted blanket over her sleeping sister and attempting to join her, ignoring the memories of the sound of gardener's shears against a loaded flintlock rifle.

Sekihi was in pain.

She had never come so close to death before. But, in just a fraction of a moment, with both Shinku and Yuki-Koori right in the palm of her hand, the doll in purple had come out of nowhere with a loaded rifle and shot her in the arm. Although it had not killed her, she could not take the pain in her arm for a whole lot longer. Sighing, she perched herself onto a white N-Field door nearby and began rubbing her arm silently, even though her thoughts were racing. And very, _very _homicidal.

She had many times before come in contact with the dolls of Rozen Maiden. They were well-known in the world of living dolls; albeit very few were able to survive encounters with the Maidens, who were far advanced by any standards for living dolls. Sekihi considered herself a strong doll. Not only could she take on a Rozen Maiden, she had taken on three, one of which was arguably the strongest. But what was she now? She had suffered a serious injury from the last of the Maidens. Was she still strong?

"Yes," Sekihi murmured, bottom lip trembling slightly. "I am a strong doll. I was just caught off guard, that's all."

Now able to ignore the pain in her arm long enough to look around, she noted the door seemed slightly different that it had moments ago. The door was still white, but something seemed off about it. Now, it seemed, there were thorny rose vines growing slowly from the bottom to where she sat. Had they been there before? Sekihi was only able to ponder this for a moment as they approached closer to her limbs, which were now trembling slightly as she lost her balance.

"_Don't worry," _a small voice giggled, apparently from inside the door. _"I'll catch you, see?"_

"Like hell you will; not with those thorny vines!" Sekihi yelped, losing her balance even further. But her plea was ignored, and before she knew it the sharp vines were wrapped around her waist, preventing her from falling into the strange and abyss-esque darkness below. Contorting in pain seemed to do her no good, as the vines only wrapped around her further until she could no longer move.

She couldn't quite remember how long she attempted to break free, but eventually she was placed down on a grassy looking area, with the potent smell of white roses filling her nostrils. Opening her eyes slowly, she was able to see what appeared to be another doll smiling down at her. Her hair was long, curled, and white with the slightest tinge of pink. Two of the longer strands were pulled on top of her and pined up with two roses. Her dress was short, frilly, and bell shaped. It almost looked like… a rose. The doll looked exactly like what was surrounding her: a bunch of white roses. But what stuck out the most was the fact that she seemed to be missing a proper left eye to go with her yellow, catlike right. In its place was yet another rose. The rose motif was really starting to wear on Sekihi's nerves, especially now that she realized she had come in contact with yet another doll of Rozen Maiden. And worse, another _unfamiliar _doll of Rozen Maiden.

"Poor thing," the new doll giggled. "You are very popular today, are you not?"

Sekihi groaned, still dizzy from the new injuries made on her waist. "I…hate you Rozen Maidens. All of you."

Kirakishou only smirked. "What a bold statement, coming from such a weak little doll…"

Sekihi, who seemed to regain all her energy from that one insult, stood up and pressed her hands into the dolls shoulders. "I will _never _be a weak doll. But since you're so unsure, I'd love to prove this to you. How about it, _Weiss Rosen_?"

Kirakishou grinned eagerly, as if such an opportunity pleased her to no end. "Ah, even a formal invitation…how polite you are. You remind me of my sisters, despise them as you may."

Sekihi bit her lips as they unconsciously moved into a twisted smile. However, Kirakishou could only laugh as their fight began.

She had found a match, even if she was not a superior doll.

A delightfully insane match.

A match made in Hell.

**A/N: Well, as you might have noticed, I am not following the anime plot as much. Meaning, I will not be introducing Enju or Barasuishou. Don't get me wrong, I love Barasuishou, but Barasuishou is a better plot point than a character, considering she was basically used to wrap up the anime quicker than Kirakishou would have. And I like Kirakishou and her backstory a bit better, honestly. **


	5. Chapter 5 (Contemplation)

It was another bitterly cold day.

For Fumiko, this meant curling up by the heater, book in tow, and silently cursing Mother Nature for making her so uncomfortable. But for Yuki-Koori, a cold day was a good day. A cold day was a day of enjoying the crisp morning air, a day for enjoying a long walk by herself, or even a day for relentlessly tormenting her sisters for their inability to adapt to the cold as well as she. Needless to say, she was now practicing the latter of the three on poor, cold Fumiko. The Moriya household was lacking severely in means of warmth, save for the slow moving, artificial heat leaking out of the vents. It was now painfully obvious that today was also a day for improvisation. The two dolls desperately needed something to do, even if it meant taking a trip upstairs to visit Kanaria.

"I don't think I can even recall the last time I saw Kanaria," Fumiko admitted. While the two dolls were not the best of friends, Fumiko's obliviousness to Kanaria's hostile intentions eventually led to Kanaria giving up on ever phasing the blissfully ignorant doll. "It's been so long. And she really is just upstairs?"

Yuki-Koori nodded. "I've been spending the past week with her. She and I were attacked by Sekihi the other day, and then she was spouting some bullcrap about that loner doll being a Rozen Maiden."

"It could very well be true," Fumiko frowned as she rolled the information through her brain. "Father never said he'd stop making dolls after us."

Yuki-Koori frowned back. "She doesn't…_seem _like a Rozen Maiden, you know?"

"Neither do you," Fumiko pointed out dully. "And neither do I."

"That's not the point!" Yuki-Koori groaned, rubbing her temples furiously. "But tell me, Fumiko, what exactly do you want to do today? I'm bored; I don't want to talk about that crazy doll anymore."

Fumiko glanced outside, internally cringing as white flakes began to fall. It was rather strange occurrence. As far as she was aware, it was barely a week into November. To see snow falling now was something she couldn't remember happening as long as she had been alive. Looking over at Yuki-Koori, who she expected to see dragging her outside in two seconds flat, she noticed she seemed rather put off than excited.

"What's wrong?" Fumiko asked the doll, who seemed to be getting more upset by the second. "It is snowing, you see?"

Yuki-Koori simply grabbed Fumiko's head, forcing her to take a better look out of the large window. The scene in front of them had completely changed. While it was still snowing, it was almost as if they were no longer anywhere near the city, or even in their apartment. Instead of the local park and street below in clear view, a large forest now occupied the area directly to their right. And, to their left, was a beautifully constructed castle. Yuki-Koori knew this area all too well. It was her own N-Field, right in front of her. Had she inadvertently caused this? She couldn't have. After pinching herself to confirm she wasn't dreaming, she slowly stood up, opening the window.

"Your N-Field?" Fumiko asked hesitantly, crawling over to the window. "Did you do this?"

"I didn't!" Yuki-Koori sputtered. "I-I couldn't have!"

Fumiko looked around, slowly reaching for the window lock and opening it. A sudden blast of cold air ran down her sleeve, causing her to cringe. Yuki-Koori's N-Field was, understandably, cold, but she never remembered it being cold to this extent. While she quietly mulled over this, Yuki-Koori lowered herself from the window, observing the area. It did look like her N-Field. Snow was falling, the landscape seemed the same, and it was still cold. Fumiko joined her now, standing beside her in hopes she'd offer her long, winter coat resemblant capelet to her.

Yuki-Koori sighed, unbuttoning the capelet and draping it over Fumiko's shoulders. Although she wouldn't get cold, it was almost uncomfortable to have some of her ball joints showing.

"Hey," Fumiko started off, whispering as quietly as she could manage. "Do you think this is one of our sisters' doing? Do they intend to trap us here?"

Yuki-Koori sighed. "Yeah, I'll bet. Hey, whoever did this, you might as well come out."

They waited for a moment, but the N-Field remained void of any other dolls.

"Let's keep walking," Fumiko suggested, linking arms with her sister. "Perhaps they aren't good at hiding."

"For your sake, let's hope they're deaf, too," Yuki-Koori joked, leading Fumiko into the nearby forest. Here was the only place in Yuki-Koori's N-Field that was warm. Just as the forest ended, grass and various types of flowers grew along a warm, calmly flowing river. Fumiko relaxed here a bit, although she knew she had to get Yuki-Koori back home soon, or she would become trapped here forever.

"Where do you suppose the door is?" Fumiko asked, settling herself in the grass beside Yuki-Koori.

"I guess we have to keep looking, don't we?" Yuki-Koori sighed, biting her lip. Although she loved her N-Field, a wonderland reigned by ever-falling snow, she knew becoming trapped here forever would be extremely wearing on her psyche.

Fumiko nodded, smiling sadly. "Unless we're able to find the person behind this and convince them to let us go soon, then yes, we have to keep looking."

"Or you may become trapped here forever, isn't that right?"

Fumiko and Yuki-Koori both jumped, looking around wildly for the source of the new voice. But, before they could trace its source, the source appeared right in front of them. Sekihi stood, almost defeated looking, behind a new doll. This doll had long, white hair, tinged in pink. Her dress was white, heavily frilled and bell shaped, and she wore long boots of the same color scheme.

"Kirakishou," Sekihi whispered, her voice breaking several times. "She is Kirakishou, the seventh doll of Rozen Maiden."

Both Yuki-Koori and Fumiko halted completely. This was the mysterious seventh doll? What had she done to the boisterous Sekihi? And, almost more unnervingly, this new doll was missing an eye. While she had her right, gold and catlike, her left was replaced by a white rose.

"What did you do to Sekihi?" Yuki-Koori stood up, her sickle materializing in her clenched fist. "She was ranting and raving about how she was more powerful than us Maidens just yesterday!"

"Ah, so you are acquainted," Kirakishou giggled, her crazed ebullience becoming apparent very quickly. "My crystals were correct."

Fumiko frowned, disturbed by the amount of terror this doll had instilled—in all three of them. A heavy rifle materialized her hand shortly afterward, alerting the gleeful doll.

"Calm down," she drawled in an almost sickeningly sweet voice. "I simply thought that now, after defeating this one, I should… introduce myself. I haven't quite set up the tables how I would like yet, you see? And, my disadvantage…"

"What was defeating big mouth going to prove?" Yuki-Koori interrupted loudly. "As long as you're not here to fight the Alice Game, get out of our way."

Kirakishou frowned. She was aware Yuki-Koori was lacking in manners, but did she not care about the disadvantage that left her out of each and every era of the Alice Game?

Sekihi smiled, although unnoticed with her head bowed. "You damn fool."

Fumiko interrupted hastily in a weak attempt to further prolong fighting. "Disadvantage?"

Kirakishou tore her irritated gaze away from Yuki-Koori for a moment to face the youngest Maiden. "I lack a physical body. Father created my essence in the N-Field, a girl of nothing but dreams. I have not been able to leave the N-Field for all these four hundred and fifteen years…but I do believe this era is the last. A physical body stands right behind me, and I have defeated her rightfully. There are no objections to be made, yes?"

Sekihi lowered her head even further, grabbing her skirt in her clenched fists as tears ran down her cheeks. This did not go by unnoticed by Fumiko, who was now at a complete loss. Was this just of Kirakishou? Could she even feel sorry for Sekihi after what she had done? Her thoughts were completely jumbled. Just as she was about to give in, Yuki-Koori spoke.

"I have one."

Kirakishou's eye widened considerably.

Yuki-Koori smiled. "I don't like Sekihi, and I probably never will. But you and I are born enemies, ain't that right? I think I'd rather help her out than you; sorry, sis."

Kirakishou grit her teeth in rage. "And how _exactly _do you plan to help her, Yuki-Koori? You're not strong enough to defeat me. You and Fumiko aren't strong enough to defeat me! All three of you are _weak_!"

Fumiko squeaked softly, releasing her finger, which had been on the trigger of her gun since Kirakishou had begun to rant. A bullet flew out, barely grazing Kirakishou's ear. After the initial shock between all four of them, Kirakishou grinned madly.

"I wasn't quite prepared," she started, thin rose vines bursting up from the ground below and encasing both Yuki-Koori and Fumiko in their thorny grasp. "But I suppose my life never has been quite fair, has it?"

Yuki-Koori gagged, trying desperately to release her neck from the vines. "Let… me go…"

Kirakishou smiled softly, ignoring Yuki-Koori and turning to Sekihi. "How should I torture them, darling? Perhaps I could even let you feel the power of a Rosa Mystica for a little while after I kill them, if you help me out…"

Sekihi gulped loudly. "I-I don't know…"

"Hm, really?" Kirakishou turned back to the two maidens, who were still struggling furiously. "I suppose I should get it over with. These two don't look very cute, choking like that…"

Sekihi turned to the two dolls, her face apologetic. What could she do besides obey Kirakishou? She had lost in a battle with her. Despite this, Yuki-Koori's words ran through her mind again.

"_I'd rather help her than you; sorry, sis."_

They were in this predicament because they had attempted to help her out. Kirakishou had other plans for her, she knew now. Even if she treated her kindly now, listened to her stories, and cared for her in the absence of…anyone, she knew now what Kirakishou intended to do with her. To take her physical body and leave the N-Field so she could begin the Alice Game. After seeing what she was capable of in battle, she knew she could not subject the two who had tried to help her to that.

She had to do something, but what? Perhaps, if she acted quickly, she could free them and take them to the exit. She did, after all, have the advantage of knowing where Kirakishou had hidden the door. Kirakishou must not have been expecting betrayal. Sekihi smiled, her knife appearing in the palm of her hand. Taking advantage of Kirakishou's distraction in torturing the two Maidens, she lunged forward, skillfully twisting the knife in and out of the many vines Kirakishou had wound. The Maidens fell to the ground and Kirakishou cried out in pain.

"I know where the door is," Sekihi spoke quickly. "Follow me. Now."

Yuki-Koori and Fumiko, although confused and in pain, knew the magnitude of the situation would become at least ten times worse once Kirakishou recovered. They quickly flew off behind Sekihi, now seeing the door hidden carefully behind Yuki-Koori's castle. Before Yuki-Koori could blink, she was being hurled from the door onto the Moriya household's cold carpet. Fumiko was thrown equally as hard, right on top of Yuki-Koori. Sekihi, however, made a slightly more graceful entrance, landing on her knees beside the two. As they regained awareness, they realized with relief they were safe for the moment.

"Thank you," Fumiko said, the tone of her voice nothing other than genuine. "I wasn't expecting help from you, but thank you."

Sekihi glanced up at Fumiko. "Well, I wasn't going to leave you there. You ended up there because you were trying to help meout, for some reason."

"Yeah," Yuki-Koori sighed, rubbing her sore neck. "I don't like you, but I think I hate Kirakishou much more."

"By the way, what happened between the two of you?" Fumiko asked hesitantly. "Did she say she defeated you?"

Sekihi rubbed her hands together nervously. "She found me in the N-Field. I got too close to her door. I…didn't like that she questioned my abilities, so I fought her. She beat me. She was kind to me at first, but back there was the first time she ever let slide what she actually wanted with me."

"I'm sorry," Fumiko said quietly. "I didn't mean for our sister to cause you so much trouble. In fact, we've never met this one, but I suppose now we know why…"

"Yeah, she's nuts," Yuki-Koori laughed quietly. "Hey, where are you staying at?"

"Usually the N-Field," Sekihi said. "But I suppose it isn't safe anymore, now is it?"

"Guess not," Yuki-Koori shrugged. "Where will you be staying at, then?"

Fumiko smiled, which Yuki-Koori took notice of immediately. She looked at her, almost horrified.

"What?" Fumiko laughed. "She saved our lives. She can stay here for a little while if she wants to."

Yuki-Koori began sputtering unintelligible nonsense, whining quietly for Fumiko to spare her. Sekihi gazed at the two oddly before speaking.

"Ninth doll, why do you not hate me?"

Fumiko looked at her, confused. "What do you mean 'hate you'?"

"I tried to kill you," Sekihi pointed out. "You should hate me."

Fumiko laughed. "Let's put it this way. If I hated everyone who has tried to kill me, I don't think I'd have a friend in the world."

Sekihi sighed. "That's an odd way to put it, but I see your point."

"Come on, Yuki-Koori, let's fix a snack," Fumiko stood up, dusting herself off and venturing into the kitchen. "Takana and Takumi will be home soon."

Yuki-Koori followed Fumiko into the kitchen, taking out the ingredients necessary for cookies. Sekihi walked in carefully behind them, eyeing the ingredients with sudden curiosity.

"What?" Yuki-Koori asked irritably, turning to her. "Don't tell me you've never seen food before, geez."

"Rarely am I in the human world," Sekihi said. "I've seen food. But I don't eat, or need to. What are you making?"

"Chocolate chip cookies," Fumiko piped up. "Yuki has a sweet tooth, especially for cookies, so we have these often. Would you like to help?"

"I suppose there isn't much else I can do right now," Sekihi sighed, stepping up onto the counter and sitting by the ingredients.

"Fine," Yuki-Koori mumbled, pouting. "But you don't get to crack the eggs, that's my job!"

After one long hour and one huge mess, a neat plate of cookies lay on the dining room table. Fumiko seemed satisfied, but Yuki-Koori and Sekihi were both ready to pull each other's hair out.

"As mad as I am at you right now," Yuki-Koori muttered in Sekihi's general direction. "I want to see what you think of these. Go ahead, try one."

Sekihi looked around carefully, reaching for a warm cookie and placing an end in her mouth. As Yuki-Koori expected, her face lit up and she crammed the rest of it in her mouth.

"Yep, that's Fumiko's special recipe," Yuki-Koori nodded. "I remember my first, I ate the entire batch. You better not though, our mediums will be home soon."

Sekihi nodded vigorously, reaching for another cookie and shoving it in her mouth. Fumiko laughed, handing the doll a glass of milk to wash it down, which she took gratefully.

After they had filled themselves up with cookies, they decided to wait on the couch for the two humans to come home.

"Humans," Sekihi spoke up suddenly. "I haven't been around a human in a long time. They seemed rather hostile last time I was here."

"Nah," Yuki-Koori shrugged. "I mean, some are…but our mediums are two kids. They're pretty innocent, don't worry about them. They'll probably like you right off the bat."

"Really?" Sekihi almost seemed surprised. "I didn't know they could be that accepting."

Fumiko nodded. "In the eyes of Takumi, the younger of the two, we're just cute dolls."

Yuki-Koori laughed quietly. "How very wrong he is."

It became quiet after that. Sekihi had found little to converse about, especially now that she was rooming with the supposed 'enemy', even if they had saved her from the ball of insanity that was the seventh doll of Rozen Maiden. More than once now she was picturing herself gaining the trust of the dolls, and then betraying them once the Alice Game began. Then, she would definitely have enough power to defeat the rest of the Rozen Maidens. Especially if she could control both fire _and _ice. She imagined leaving the N-Field in complete ruin, as lifeless dolls lay before her. She even imagined Kirakishou, in her dying breath, begging for her to end her pain. And, for the grand finale, she pictured a man. One surrounded completely in light, exactly the way the Rozen Maidens had described their Father. He would bend down beside her and stare at her in awe. All nine of the Rosa Mystica, she thought, would make her the perfect doll. She would no longer be called weak, or inferior. And, best of all, she would have someone to care for her. Rozen only wanted a perfect doll, right? Even though she supposed she was not made by the man, she knew he must accept her as his daughter if she were to beat all of the Maidens. It was a true test of her conscience. Live with them and continue to be viewed as a weak doll, or betray them?

It was a lovely thought, albeit very outlandish. A smile graced her lips; a smile that went unnoticed by the two maidens as they rushed to greet their mediums who had just arrived.

"Oh, Kira," Sekihi murmured to the ground below. "It seems I just may have set up the tables before you."

Broken doll.

These two words usually caused a Rozen Maiden to cringe. It seemed logical, as they knew these two words would likely describe their fate should the Alice Game become lethal this era. However, the words 'broken doll' seemed to have no effect on the first doll of the series, Suigintou. After all, her N-field consisted primarily of broken things. Broken buildings, and broken dolls. That was Suigintou's world.

However, if the words were aimed at her specifically…

Heads would roll. More so if it were Shinku.

The first doll of Rozen Maiden was planning. While she knew it was unnecessary, something about this era seemed different. As she stood in her broken castle, eyeing the fragments of a mirror carefully, this something became apparent. Very many of her sisters were awake; so many more than usual. In the first, she saw Shinku and Hina-Ichigo, eating lunch in the living room of the Sakurada household. Glaring at it for a moment, she eventually moved on to the next. In the next contained the second doll being forced into some frilly, nonsensical outfit with a pair of rabbit ears. She almost felt bad for Kanaria after taking a glance at what appeared to be her medium, but moved on anyway. In the third contained the eighth and ninth dolls, Yuki-Koori and Fumiko, both seemingly readying themselves for a walk. While there were usually only this many fragments, another image appeared in a fourth fragment. As her eyes narrowed, the image became clearer. It was a doll she did not recognize right off the bat, though she seemed to be a Rozen Maiden. She was a doll clad in a frilly, white top and a bell shaped skirt. Her hair seemed to be white as well, with just a hint of pink. As the image became even more clear, she noticed something that made her want to look away from it entirely. In the place of the doll's left eye, there seemed to be a white rose growing in the empty socket.

"How disgusting, right big sis?"

The doll jumped upon hearing a new voice in her N-field, and drew her sword. This sister did not keep herself hidden for long, almost as if she were anxious to see her. It was the missing eyed doll, standing right in front of her.

"Who are you?" Suigintou spat, aiming the sword at the doll's chest.

Kirakishou simply giggled. "Your strength is so admirable, dearest sister, but the fact that you cannot use the simple process of elimination to figure out who I am simply doesn't seem like you! Come on, Suigintou, guess!"

Suigintou's eyes narrowed further as her thoughts ran. Which one of her sisters had she never met before? She had met the twins, Kanaria, Shinku of course, Hina-Ichigo, Yuki-Koori, and the youngest doll, Fumiko.

Unless this was the mysterious seventh doll, the one that none of her sisters had ever come in contact with.

"Ah, the look on your face has changed," Kirakishou noted with glee. "Who am I, Suigintou?"

"The seventh doll," Suigintou said flatly. "You have finally decided to show yourself, I see."

Kirakishou frowned. "Yes, I am Kirakishou. But you and I are almost the same, you see? We are both disadvantaged…"

Suigintou simply poked her sword closer to the doll's chest. "I don't care. Leave, unless you intend to begin the Alice Game now."

Kirakishou's fists balled up tightly as rose vines began to grow out of the dark abyss below. She still tried to remain patient, even though now she knew her crystals had not exaggerated Suigintou's coldhearted nature.

"You see, I can't leave the N-Field," she started. "Our Father spun my essence out of dreams, and I have no physical body. However, I have a proposition for you, big sis. Care to hear, or would you rather poke that sword at me again?"

Suigintou scowled, lowering her sword slightly. "Spit it out, you tenacious brat."

Kirakishou grinned, clasping her hands in delight. "I need your help finding another doll. She isn't one of us, but surprisingly strong for belonging to another doll maker. Her name is Sekihi…I had defeated her rightfully, but she used my inability to leave the N-Field against me and returned to the human world! I need your help in bringing her back to me. After I use her physical body to leave the N-Field, I will belong to you. Fair, isn't it?"

Suigintou was at a loss for words. Why did this sister idolize her so much when they had never met? It was extremely disturbing. And more disturbing yet, this doll would willingly hand herself over to her in exchange for the corpse of an inferior doll. But now, she wondered, what harm could come from appeasing the doll? After she defeated 'Sekihi', Kirakishou's Rosa Mystica was up for grabs, was it not? Unless, of course, the doll was tricking her.

But even so, she could be taken care of quickly with the Alice Game. Was the proposition even worth considering? Suigintou sighed, lowering her sword completely as it disappeared.

"Fine, seventh doll," Suigintou said, folding her arms across her chest. "I will play your game. But I expect you to keep your end of the deal, or I won't hesitate to end your pathetic existence even earlier. Are we clear?"

Kirakishou smiled brightly at her sister, pulling her into a strange, one sided hug. "Oh, you did listen to me! I knew you would come through for me, Suigintou!"

"Get your hands off of me," Suigintou hissed, cringing at the doll's strangely tight hug.

Kirakishou let go quickly, stepping back to face her sister. "Don't let your little sister down, Suigintou! I'll be waiting for her…"

At that, the one-eyed doll disappeared, leaving no trace of her arrival. Suigintou sighed, turning back to the fragmented mirror. What had she gotten herself into with her younger sister?

**A/N: I get the sinking feeling some of my chapter breaks aren't going to work. Oh well; I hope you guys can still follow it without too much confusion. Finally introduced Suigintou! I love her to death, but I always write her out of character, it's sad…I will be introducing Megu and getting more into Jun's backstory soon, hopefully during chapters 7 and 8. I plan for this story to have 12 to 15 chapters at most, so perhaps it will work? Suiseiseki and Souseiseki are coming in chapter 7, for sure!**

**Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6 (Discovery)

Takana Moriya was overrun with homework.

Although this was most definitely not the first time she'd been forced to tackle such a large load of the stuff, she had absolutely no intentions of finishing what lay before her. What she needed right now was a distraction. As she listened carefully towards the outside of her bedroom door, all she could hear was the soft humming of Fumiko, who appeared to be the only doll out of the three currently home at the moment. Takana frowned a little. She wasn't a shy girl by any means, but she had not been able to speak to Fumiko much alone. She and Yuki-Koori were together often, and she had spoken to Sekihi a little, but Fumiko was a different story. Either way, she was desperate for a distraction. She began quietly heading downstairs, just loud enough for Fumiko to notice her presence. The doll turned around from where she appeared to be sewing a piece of the lace on her sleeves that had come loose, smiling warmly at the girl.

"Hey Fumiko," Takana started off awkwardly. "am I interrupting?"

"No," Fumiko said, setting down the tiny needle back into the small sewing kit. "I just finished. Were you looking for Yuki-Koori? She just left a little while ago."

"Nah," Takana said, sitting down beside the doll on the couch by the window. "I was just looking for a distraction from my homework."

Fumiko glanced up at her, smiling coyly. "Your studies are important, Takana. But I suppose everyone needs a break once and a while…"

"Yeah!" Takana piped up. "Where _did _the other two go, by the way?"

"I believe Yuki-Koori is in her N-Field," Fumiko murmured, pondering both of the dolls locations quietly. "I can't say I know where Sekihi is right now. She's a hard one to keep track of, but I assume she prefers to be alone."

It became quiet for a moment as Takana looked down at the doll. Looking at both Rozen Maiden dolls she had encountered, she often found herself wondering who 'Rozen' really was. Now was one of those times. He had to have been an extraordinarily gifted doll maker. Did Fumiko remember Rozen at all?

"Uh, Fumiko?" Takana asked quietly, although she knew the question she wanted to ask was more than slightly invasive. "Could I ask you something personal?"

Fumiko raised an arched eyebrow. "I don't think I mind. Go ahead."

"Do you remember your Father? That Rozen dude?" Takana spit out quickly.

Fumiko looked to be thinking for a moment. "I…I remember his existence. My first memories are of him fixing my hair after he had wound me up. But I cannot remember his appearance. I remember him as a tall man enveloped in a warm light, but that's about all."

"Oh," Takana said quietly, wishing she hadn't asked so suddenly. "I'm sorry."

Fumiko smiled again. "It's alright. I remember he exists, and that is all that matters."

"No wonder Yuki-Koori looks up to you so much," Takana sighed out, even though her brain could hardly process what was being told to her. "I can't imagine the two of you ever fighting, not even over something petty."

Fumiko frowned. "The history of the Rozen Maidens is a history bathed in blood. Yuki-Koori and I have fought before, although I wish I could say we have been inseparable since the beginning."

Takana continued to look at the doll, who took it as a sign to continue.

"The first era we met each other, we had the same medium," Fumiko started, settling into the couch in preparation for the long story ahead. "We were not originally intended to be Rozen Maidens. We were initially a gift to Rozen's then ten year old niece, Anja. However, Rozen sensed potential in us for Alice and as rivals, and let us compete as well. We did not always get along in the beginning, but we could always bond over our desire to please Rozen…"

"_I don't care if you're supposed to be my sister," a cross Yuki-Koori spoke up from across a long dining room table. "I can't stand you!" _

"_The feelings are mutual," an equally cross Fumiko muttered back, folding her arms across her chest. "For such a weak doll, you do not lose heart quickly enough. But I'll fight you as long as it takes. Remember that, if that small brain of yours allows."_

_Later that night, the dolls had joined each other in the wide courtyard for the third time that week. Although neither doll would admit it, they were equally matched in strength. The fighting usually led to nothing but the two tiring themselves out and all but passing out right there. Both dolls knew it was useless to continue as they did. Both dolls were tired of fighting. But that is what their Father had told them to do. Simply, be pleasant companions for Anja in the morning and bitter rivals by nightfall. It was a tiring way to lead life, no matter who had told them to live it that way._

"_Heh," Fumiko chuckled softly as she landed atop the large fountain in the center of the courtyard. "I just might take back what I said earlier. Do you believe you are strong, Yuki-Koori?"_

"_Of course I do," Yuki-Koori grinned, running her hands through her long hair and pushing it behind her. "But you make an alright opponent, even if all you have are those stupid guns."_

_Fumiko simply jumped off of the fountain, heading up to the doll, who had taken refuge on top of the large house. A loud shot fired from her polished flintlock rifle, almost alerting the guards on the other side of the house. _

_Yuki-Koori jumped quickly, narrowly avoiding a bullet to the leg. Tall pillars of ice shot up from the ground below, encasing the gun wielding doll entirely before she could attempt to imitate Yuki-Koori's catlike agility. _

"_I guess that wraps it up," Yuki-Koori yawned out, trying her hardest to remain alert should Fumiko show another burst of energy. For the moment, though, she seemed thoroughly trapped. "Will you hand over your Rosa Mystica now?"_

_Fumiko struggled under the weight of the cold ice that had nearly encased her entire body, but her voice remained calm. "You'll have to take it from my lifeless body first, Yuki-Koori."_

"_Always a pain in the ass," Yuki-Koori grumbled, taking quiet note of her quickly decreasing energy. "You don't 'lose heart' very quickly either, you know."_

"_Of course I don't!" Fumiko spat, almost as if it were an obvious realization. "I want to become Alice for Father! I cannot lose heart…" _

_Yuki-Koori's angry expression faltered for a moment. "It isn't easy for any of us. But, you know what?"_

_Fumiko looked at the doll as the icy pillars trapping her began to fade. "What?"_

"_I'm not even 'Alice' material," Yuki-Koori said quietly, gritting her teeth. "I never have felt like I could beat the rest of us Rozen Maidens, you know that?"_

_Fumiko's look softened slightly. "Any one of us could become Alice. You are no exception." _

_Yuki-Koori seemed to be thinking for a moment. "I guess you're right. Thanks."_

"_Of course I am," Fumiko smirked, flying gently down to the front yard. "And I suppose we'll pick it up again tomorrow, won't we Yuki-Koori?"_

_Yuki-Koori smirked right back at her. "Took the words right out of my mouth, Fumiko."_

"I don't get it," Takana admitted after a brief pause. "How is that anything to bond over?"

"Our love for Father and the desire to become Alice," Fumiko started, her voice still strangely distant. "is something we all share, as Rozen Maidens."

Takana smiled a little. "Still, how did you ever get this close if you were always at each other's necks?"

Fumiko smiled back as Yuki-Koori began to appear through the large vanity mirror. "A story for another day. Get back to work, Takana."

Takana grumbled quietly, begrudgingly making her way back upstairs to finish the pile of work that awaited her there. Yuki-Koori looked on curiously, but soon turned back to Fumiko.

"What have you been up to?" Fumiko asked, taking the sewing kit out of her lap and getting up to stand in front of her sister. "You usually don't leave so suddenly."

Yuki-Koori yawned, stretching her arms high above her head. "I had a snowball fight with Sekihi. I won, obviously. She ran off afterwards, though…"

Fumiko frowned. "You didn't rub it in her face, did you…?"

Yuki-Koori looked surprised. "No, not this time! She said she had something to do!"

"Oh," Fumiko looked relieved. "Well, welcome home."

"Thanks," Yuki-Koori said, smiling brightly. "But, I'm already bored…"

A sudden, quick knock on the door prevented Fumiko from responding. The pair looked at each other for a moment before Yuki-Koori cautiously moved toward the door, unlocking it and pulling it open to the best of her ability. What awaited the two, however, made Yuki-Koori wish she had never came near the door at all.

Micchan stood in front of them, holding quite a few boxes of what Yuki-Koori knew was doll clothing.

"Yuki!" Micchan called out from behind the boxes. "I got some new outfits for you and Kana to try on! Let's go!"

Fumiko stood there, completely confused. "Yuki-Koori, do you know this woman?"

"Unfortunately," Yuki-Koori sighed out. "She's Kanaria's medium, Micchan."

A confused Micchan poked her head out from behind the boxes, searching for the source of the new doll. Fumiko eyed the human warily for fear of being picked up, but Yuki-Koori quietly reassured her she could shoo Micchan away fast.

"Why are you pushing me out?" a confused Micchan groaned no less than a minute later. "I just want to see your friend!"

Fumiko sighed quietly. "I'm Fumiko, the ninth doll of Rozen Maiden. And you're Mitsu, yes?"

Much to Yuki-Koori's irritation, the woman dropped the boxes completely to take a look at Fumiko. And much to Fumiko's irritation, she was picked up no less than two seconds later.

"How cute!" Micchan piped up. "Your father must have loved blonde hair…"

It was going to be a long day.

"Kanaria, I wish you would control your medium…"

"As if I could!"

"She doesn't look so strong, you could take her…"

"What are you expecting me to do to her, huh?!"

Fumiko, although slightly annoyed and uncomfortable in her new dress, would admit she was happy to be reunited with another one of her sisters again. It was just like old times. Yuki-Koori, Fumiko, and Kanaria, together again and arguing over anything petty they could think of. It made them happy, as reluctant as they would be to admit it. Currently, the three were situated around a small table, enjoying afternoon tea and the strangely sweet omelets Kanaria had fixed up. Micchan had gone to the store not too long after a painful photo shoot, so now the three were by themselves.

"So…number seven is finally awake?" Kanaria asked hesitantly as she set her teacup back down on the table. "How was she, huh?"

Fumiko frowned. "She is a strange one. She claims our father created her soul in the N-Field out of his dreams for Alice, and she hasn't been able to leave for all of the four hundred years she's been alive. Her name is Kirakishou, if my memory serves correctly."

"And she's looking for a host body so she can leave the N-Field and begin the Alice Game," Yuki-Koori continued for Fumiko. "She's already kidnapped Sekihi once, so we should probably be careful."

Kanaria looked to be surprised for a moment, but quickly recovered. "Kana could take her! Why, in the face of my violin, she'd be nothing but a bumbling coward!"

Yuki-Koori smirked. "That piece of junk you call a violin would be torn to pieces in seconds flat."

"Hey!" Kanaria shouted, standing up and placing her hands on her hips. "Would you like to have my 'piece of junk violin' shoved up your…"

"Yuki-Koori!" Fumiko interrupted quickly. "Did Sekihi ever come home?"

Yuki-Koori and Kanaria both turned around, surprised at Fumiko's sudden outburst.

"You're letting that rotten doll live with you?!" Kanaria asked, crinkling her nose in disgust. "You should have just let KiraKira have her!"

"Stupid," Yuki-Koori grumbled. "She'd use Sekihi's body and leave the N-Field. Then we'd all have absolute hell to pay. And that _does _include you, you pretentious ass ..."

"Listen, both of you!" Fumiko snapped, interrupting yet another round of verbal abuse between her two sisters. "That could very well be our reality soon if Sekihi is still in the N-Field. Get up, we need to find her!"

Yuki-Koori sighed. "I guess you have a point. I don't suppose you want to help us play hide and seek right now, Kana?"

Kanaria stood beside the two, smirking. "You two ladies definitely need Kana to keep you on track!"

Fumiko said no more, but jumped through the large vanity mirror in Micchan's living room. Kanaria and Yuki-Koori looked at each other for a moment, but followed her shortly after. The N-Field looked the same as ever. Confusing, and full of unmarked doors. Fumiko lead the way, calling out for their missing friend every so often. After a few minutes of this, Fumiko began to wonder if Kirakishou had already gotten ahold of her.

"You think KiraKira already got her?" Kanaria asked, almost as if she had been reading Fumiko's mind.

"I hope not," Fumiko sighed out, stretching her sore limbs. "Do you think we could save her if she does have Sekihi…?"

"I don't know," Yuki-Koori said quietly. "We're still in these dumbass outfits, and Kirakishou is scary…"

"What are you ladies so down about?" Kanaria asked. "It would be three against one, right? And with Kanaria on your team, we would never lose!"

"You sound so confident, it almost gives me a smidge of hope," Yuki-Koori mumbled. Suddenly, a loud crashing sound from the door behind them caused the three of them to jump in shock.

"Wh-What was that!?" Fumiko shrieked. "Oh no, Kirakishou got her! We're going to die!"

Yuki-Koori and Kanaria stared at the hysterical doll, wondering quietly if Fumiko wasn't far off from the truth.

"Well, come on guys," Yuki-Koori sighed, holding out her hand as her sickle materialized. "We can't turn back now."

Fumiko and Kanaria followed suit, a gun and violin materializing beside Yuki-Koori's sickle. Ever so slowly, Yuki-Koori opened the door to the N-Field where the loud noise had come from. Much to the dolls' surprise, the N-Field they had come in was not Kirakishou's N-Field, nor was it Sekihi's.

It was Suigintou's N-Field.

After a brief moment of shock in which none of them could find the strength to move, Yuki-Koori lead the way into the field, sickle held close to her chest. It was not often that she found herself in Suigintou's N-Field, but she had not forgotten how nightmarish it was. The combination of everything that was broken, including other dolls, was enough to turn any one of the maidens' stomachs. Yuki-Koori flew up onto a building, seeking out the black clad doll as quietly as she could manage. Fumiko took the ground level with Kanaria, until a barrage of feathers shot out of nowhere, sending them all flying for shelter.

"Did you think you could sneak around and not get caught?" Suigintou asked, although she seemed almost confused at the sudden appearance of three of her sisters who she rarely came in contact with. "Get out."

Yuki-Koori glanced up at the large building Suigintou had perched herself upon, picking the black feathers out of her hair.

"We were looking for our friend," Fumiko spoke up, kind as ever. "We didn't mean to stumble in here, unless she is here…"

Suigintou made a face. "Friend? The doll Kirakishou wanted?"

"Yes," Fumiko said, flying up so she was closer to Suigintou. "How did you know?"

Suigintou turned away slightly. "Kirakishou wanted the doll for a host body. She's so crazed over being able to leave that she won't be much trouble for me to take down afterwards."

Suddenly, from behind Suigintou, aforementioned 'crazed doll' appeared. Both she and Fumiko jumped, looking warily at their grinning sister.

"Look, big sister," Kirakishou said sweetly, placing her hand against Fumiko's cheek. "Our baby sister is here! Whatever could you want, little Fumiko?"

Fumiko jerked back, jamming her rifle into Kirakishou's chest. "We'd like Sekihi back, Kirakishou."

Kirakishou giggled, but made no attempt to move the gun from her chest. "Fumiko, didn't our father ever tell you it wasn't a good idea to be friendly with other dolls?"

"He did not," Fumiko growled, all thoughts of being kind to the doll flying out of the window. "He has never said such a thing at all."

Yuki-Koori flew up then, standing beside Fumiko. "It's none of your business who we decide to make friends with. But it is our business what you've decided to do with Sekihi, so speak up."

Suigintou glanced down, folding her arms across her torso. "Kanamiso appears to have run off."

Yuki-Koori and Fumiko both looked down. True to her word, Kanaria appeared to have taken off somewhere in the N-Field without a word.

Kirakishou continued to smile, despite the obvious distress of her two little sisters. "Big sis, I think we could make this a little more interesting for both of our benefits."

"What are you talking about now?" Suigintou hissed. "I'm tired of playing your ridiculous games."

Kirakishou was unfazed. "But this isn't a ridiculous game, big sister, it is the Alice Game. Listen up, Fumiko and Yuki! I say that we can turn this little disagreement into a fair match between us."

"Match?" Yuki-Koori asked, looking between her older sisters warily. "What are you talking about, crazy?"

"If you want your dear friend, you can have her," Kirakishou said grinning. "That is, if you can beat Suigintou and I in the Alice Game first. Here and now!"

"I don't want to be a part of this," Suigintou spoke sharply, grabbing Kirakishou by her top. "If you want to fight them, you do it. I have better things to do. I'm not your puppet; I am _no one's _puppet. Are we clear?"

"So cruel!" Kirakishou whined, struggling away from Suigintou's iron grip. "Don't you want a Rosa Mystica? What about three!? I'm sure Shinku will come looking for this lot, and then you can beat her with your new power!"

Suigintou scoffed. "I can defeat Shinku with the power I have. I don't want to get involved in your ridiculous game. You said you were strong, you take them on alone, little sister."

Kirakishou clenched her fists furiously, encasing her disobedient older sister in a fusillade of rose vines.

"I am strong," Kirakishou growled. "And that's why I could easily make you my puppet if you decide to disobey me again!"

Suigintou hissed at the pain the vines brought her as they tore into her arms, trying desperately to escape her little sister's wrath. Much to her surprise, Yuki-Koori jumped up from where she stood watching, sickle in hand. After jamming it into Kirakishou's side and knocking her off of the building, she cut Suigintou out of the vines.

"What are you doing?" Suigintou groaned out as she landed on the ground.

"I think a momentary truce would be our best bet for surviving right now," Fumiko said, rifle pointed towards the slowly recovering Kirakishou as she took a shot. "Wouldn't you agree, Suigintou?"

Suigintou narrowed her eyes at the two. "I can take this one on alone. I am choosing to spare your lives. Don't be stupid."

"Didn't look like it earlier," Yuki-Koori teased. "We can go right back to hating each other later. Can't we just concentrate on getting away from this one now?"

"Fine," Suigintou spat. "But if you don't leave as soon as she does, you're next."

"Whatever," Yuki-Koori muttered, jumping off of the building, sending a large barrage of ice heading toward the unaware Kirakishou.

Kirakishou skillfully twisted her way around the falling ice, barely escaping being pinned to the ground. Another round of rose vines came all three of their ways, which Suigintou had the advantage of blocking with the help of her wings. Fumiko and Yuki-Koori, however, were not so lucky. Yuki-Koori jumped into the air, grabbing Fumiko in order to get her out of the way. Kirakishou grinned to herself. Although she would have preferred her older sister on her side, this was almost the fight she wanted. After she finished them off, perhaps attempting to bring Suigintou back to her side so she would not have to kill her, she could finish Sekihi off and enjoy her new body. With her own powers, Sekihi's, Yuki-Koori's, and even Fumiko's, she was an unstoppable piece of the Alice Game. Not even Shinku would be able to render her useless. No one would be able to measure up to her again, and she would become Alice.

"What a shame," Kirakishou murmured, giggling. "And you were such cute dolls, too."

"Wish I could say the same for you," Yuki-Koori said, smirking. "You're just damn crazy."

"Petty insults won't get you anywhere in a fight, Yuki-Koori," Kirakishou informed the doll, disappearing and reappearing right in front of her. "The sooner you learn that, the better."

"I don't know about that," Yuki-Koori said, grinning. "You seem pretty upset to me."

Kirakishou grabbed Yuki-Koori by the collar, pulling her into a grip she could not break herself from.

Fumiko, hands trembling, attempted yet again to save her sister's life. Pulling out another rifle and aiming them both at the hostile doll, she aimed for her leg and pulled the trigger. Kirakishou jumped, avoiding the first bullet, but the second lodged right into the ball joint in her left leg, sending her crashing back into the ground and screaming in pain. Fumiko cringed, knowing the pain her guns caused when aimed correctly, but knew that Kirakishou had to be subdued, and fast.

Suigintou had appeared to have taken off, just like Kanaria had. Yuki-Koori frowned, cursing her older sisters profusely. She had expected Suigintou to leave the dirty work to them, as she wanted absolutely nothing to do with Kirakishou after discovering her strange obsession with her, but Kanaria? Where had Kanaria even gone off to? Neither of them had time to contemplate this further, as Kirakishou was quick to wobble back to her feet, tearing the lodged bullet right out of her now damaged leg.

"Even if this body cannot exist outside of the N-Field," Kirakishou began, sporting yet another twisted grin. "you have damaged something you really should not have, Fumiko. Why don't you come out, Rosary?"

Before either maiden could get away, Kirakishou's artificial spirit appeared in her hand, growing larger by the second. Rosary appeared to be quite the strong artificial spirit, as it was now twice as big as any of theirs could be.

Just as Kirakishou prepared to launch the spirit towards the two, a voice spoke from behind them.

"Like hell I'll let you get away with this again, Kirakishou!"

Before Kirakishou could turn to the source of the voice, a large ball of fire was headed right her way. She had no time to register the fact that her 'prisoner' had escaped before she was forced to jump out of the way, barely escaping singed clothes. Out from the smoky aftermath came Sekihi, followed closely behind by a triumphant looking Kanaria.

"While you ladies were arguing, Kana decided to use her tactician skills to find this one!" Kanaria informed the shocked dolls. "You're welcome!"

"Thanks, Kanaria…" Yuki-Koori mumbled out after a long pause. "I thought you ran off."

"And missed this?" Kanaria scoffed, almost as if she were offended. "No way! Face our wrath, KiraKira!"

Kirakishou ignored the doll, storming right past her and grabbing Sekihi by the shoulders. Sekihi no longer seemed frightened, even looking the doll right in the eye.

"You inferior piece of junk," Kirakishou spat, kicking the doll down on the ground. "I took you in, and even listened to those pathetic, lonely stories of yours! The least you could do is accept the fact that your life is completely meaningless compared to ours!"

"Don't listen to her, Sekihi!" Yuki-Koori shouted as Sekihi's face fell slightly. "Your life is every bit as meaningful as ours, damn it! It doesn't matter if Rozen didn't make you!"

"And what if this piece was created by the grand maestro?"

Every last one of the dolls knew who this voice belonged to. Laplace no ma had decided to show up again.

"What are you saying, Laplace?" Kirakishou hissed. "There is no way this doll was made by our father!"

Laplace stepped out from the shadowy cover of a broken building, revealing himself. "True, this rose does not belong in your garden, but she is still a rose all the same."

Fumiko raised an eyebrow. Although she was a very smart doll, it took some work to decipher the anthropomorphic rabbit's riddles. "What are you saying? She was made by father, but she is not a Rozen Maiden?"

"Precisely," Laplace confirmed. "And in fact, she was the first rose to blossom."

"You're kidding," Yuki-Koori murmured. "She was father's first living doll?"

Sekihi stood, starring at the rabbit in horror. "That can't be true. I don't remember Rozen at all! He's not my father!"

Sekihi continued to scream, but Laplace had already said all he needed to say and was slowly retreating back into the darkness, leaving every doll in front of him fuming and confused.

**A/N: I really, really enjoyed writing this chapter! Like I said before, Megu, Suiseiseki, and Souseiseki are going to be introduced during the next chapter. I was going to make one more part in this chapter where they (Suiseiseki and Souseiseki, at least…) were introduced, but I felt that slightly strange, since this was a good enough ending. Suigintou is still so out of character in my opinion; I hope I can fix that once I introduce Megu and get that story going!**

**Laplace's words were so difficult to write, I hope it came out alright…**

**See ya; I'm off to work on Chapter 7! :3**


	7. Chapter 7 (Broken)

As much as Suiseiseki loved her twin sister, she could not stand constantly butting heads with her on everything.

They were alone now. Having just formed a contract—much to the disdain of Suiseiseki—they had decided to spend the night in Suiseiseki's N-Field. It wasn't the ideal place to be at the moment, but Suiseiseki swore up and down that it was better than spending it at their new master's house. Even Souseiseki, loyal as a Rozen Maiden, had to agree. Their new master was a strange girl. Merely minutes into their first meeting, Suiseiseki began to notice something just plain odd about the girl. Though her appearance was enough to warrant some surprise, as she was bandaged heavily in several places due to what appeared to be recent severe burning and wearing an eye patch (which Souseiseki admitted she could not think of an explanation for), the girl seemed oddly distant and encased in her own thoughts. The girl, Mizuki, could not move far from her small bedroom, but that apparently had not stopped her from answering the calls of Sui-Dream and Lempicka.

"I just don't like her!" Suiseiseki spoke loudly, alarming her twin. "I bet we could find a _much_ better master tomorrow, Souseiseki."

"Why don't you like her?" Souseiseki asked, her voice still calm despite her twin's angry tone. "She hasn't said a word to you since we arrived."

"That's the problem," Suiseiseki hissed quietly. "She's too weird, and her contract brought us almost no power, yes?"

"Yes," Souseiseki sighed softly. "But she is our master now, Suiseiseki. Please, try and treat her kindly."

Suiseiseki now fumed silently. She hated that Souseiseki was so loyal to her mediums. Although her loyalty was what made Souseiseki such an admirable doll and sister, it sometimes brought more trouble to her twin sister than she felt worth it. Suiseiseki gazed at the sky above, watching the trees sway gently back and forth as a pleasantly warm wind blew through them. Her N-Field always did bring her peace when things had turned for the worse, and it still held true to this moment. However, she knew that something must be done about that strange girl, and fast. But, how could she convince her dedicated twin that the girl just wasn't medium material? She knew it would definitely take more work than she was willing to put forth, and even then she knew that Souseiseki was also very stubborn.

"I'm not stopping you from leaving, Suiseiseki," Souseiseki offered, a small smile gracing her lips. "I would be very happy for you if you found a more suitable master for yourself."

Suiseiseki turned her head, slightly embarrassed. Even she knew that she could not stay mad at Souseiseki. "D-Don't say things like that! We always stick together, yes?"

"We do," Souseiseki said. "Come on, our master is probably wondering where we are now."

"I'm sure," Suiseiseki mumbled disdainfully, digging her heels into the dirt. "Stupid, creepy girl."

Upon returning home at around eight that morning, the two dolls noted that their medium still remained in her bed. But now, she was writing in what appeared to be some sort of diary-looking book. Although Souseiseki was conscious enough to know that it would be better not to question the girl, Suiseiseki ran right forth, making space for herself on the small bed and gazing over Mizuki's shoulders. Mizuki seemed to pay her little (if even that much) attention.

"Hey!" Suiseiseki spoke up loudly, causing her twin to cringe in embarrassment. "Speak up; what are you writing?"

Mizuki looked surprised for a moment, and finally said her first words to the doll. "Just a story."

Suiseiseki looked dissatisfied with this answer, but left the girl alone. Hopping off of the bed, she decided the next step would be for her and her twin to scout out some of their sisters. Suiseiseki found herself now genuinely curious about where her sisters had ended up since the last era. Although there was no way she was fond of all of them, remembering Shinku did bring back some pleasant memories. Perhaps she was awake? Mizuki noticed the dolls looking about, and gazed at them curiously.

"Where are you going?" she asked, her voice now a louder—although it was still slightly hoarse.

Before Suiseiseki could butt in with a pointed 'None of your business, stupid human!', Souseiseki spoke. "Nowhere important, really. Why?"

"I haven't gotten out of bed much since I got home from the hospital," Mizuki admitted. "My uncle said I should try getting up once and a while, if it isn't much of a strain. Can I come with you?"

Souseiseki turned back to her sister, talking just loudly enough for her to hear. "It wouldn't hurt, would it? We can continue looking for the others tonight, when she goes to sleep."

"Why would we bring the human into the N-Field?" Suiseiseki grouched. "I don't want her there."

"All of our masters have visited the N-Field," Souseiseki pointed out. "It wouldn't hurt for her to see our world. Calm down now, Suiseiseki."

"Whatever," Suiseiseki mumbled, her eyes finally spotting a mirror that could take them there. "Listen up, human! Come here!"

Mizuki raised an eyebrow at the doll, but slowly began moving herself out of bed, minding her new dressings carefully should they fall off.

"Alright," she continued. "We're about to step into a world beyond your puny human imagination! Stay close, or else!"

Mizuki rubbed her sore arm lightly, glancing down at the doll warily. "But, you have to promise to answer my questions. You left me in such a surprise last night that I had nightmares…"

"We'll answer your questions," Souseiseki reassured the girl. "Come, just step through the mirror here."

"And you'd better answer my questions, too!" Suiseiseki said, although her tone was slightly less cutting than before. "Hurry up!"

* * *

The sound of a book closing echoed throughout the library.

Fumiko sighed, stretching her arms high above her head as she glanced into the dome above. The previously cloudy weather had begun to clear, revealing the serene, sunny skies she was more used to seeing. Although she had her suspicions, Fumiko still wondered why it had been cloudy for so long, and just now cleared up. The only commonsensical explanation she could come up with was that her mood had changed a little since she had first woken up. Fumiko did not often find herself musing over something as petty as the weather in her N-Field, but it _did _mean something. She sighed softly, summoning her artificial spirit in front of her. Bekanntheit twinkled lazily, almost as if it had been napping prior to Fumiko's call.

'_Is something the matter, mistress?' _ The spirit questioned tiredly. _'You usually do not call upon me at such an hour.'_

Fumiko smiled a little. "I was within a hair's breadth of death just earlier today, you know. I simply wanted to talk to you about something, if you don't mind, Bek."

The spirit waited patiently. Fumiko took a deep breath in preparation for the long conversation that surely lay ahead.

"What am I doing wrong, Bek?" Fumiko asked suddenly, much to the surprise of Bekanntheit. "I could hardly control my guns. I am by no means a strong doll, but I was no help at all to my sisters! What could possibly be wrong with me?"

Bekanntheit was shocked out of speaking for a moment, but eventually mustered up a response. _'I don't think you're doing anything wrong yourself, mistress. I think the young boy you are contracted with does not bring you much energy. And, if you ask me, you seem upset lately. Perhaps…it is affecting your battle skills.'_

Fumiko sat back in her seat, letting the information she had just received sink in gently. She knew Bekanntheit was correct. She was allowing her desire to remain free of the Alice Game affect the way she protected herself and her sisters. Thinking for a moment, she wondered if she could change this soon. It had to happen, and she knew that. She could not bear the guilt losing a sister would bring, especially if it had been due to her carelessness and longing to be elsewhere. Glancing at her hands, she admired the joints in her fingers. They had been blessed upon her by Rozen, to help her use her guns. As distant as she felt to the man, she knew she must serve him well for this gift. And, more importantly, she needed to protect her sisters. Yuki-Koori was incredibly dear to her; despite the task they had been given: slaughtering each other. Every one of her sisters was dear to her. Even Sekihi and Kirakishou were dear to her, despite the latter's obvious attempts at ending her life. Sekihi, she supposed, was her sister now as well, even if she was not technically a Rozen Maiden.

But what about the young Takumi? She had grown fond of the boy over the short time they had known each other. Even with this holding true, she knew Bekanntheit was right. Takumi was a small, barely ten year old boy. There was only so much energy a child of his stature and age could bring, and she knew it wasn't enough. She bit her lip gently, remembering Yuki-Koori, who had contracted with the boy's older sister. The fifteen year old seemed to bring Yuki-Koori enough energy to fight well, but her brother was obviously another story. Despite this, she knew that Yuki-Koori and Takumi were very fond of each other, even if the former would be extremely reluctant to admit this.

'_If Yuki were human," _Fumiko thought, a devious smile playing on her lips. _'They would make a wonderful couple.'_

Would Yuki-Koori consider her selfish if she broke the contract with Takumi and began looking for another master? She could hardly recall the last time Yuki-Koori had been upset with her, which did offer some hope to the prospect.

'_I'll visit as often as I can before the Alice Game," _Fumiko thought, wondering what other forms of compromise she could offer. _'And they can come visit me in my N-Field whenever they'd like, right? Yuki will understand. Takumi will understand.'_

The more she told herself this, the more determined she became. Yes, she would look for another master. She would be able to fight with Yuki-Koori until the very end, and perhaps they might survive. What would happen afterwards, she did not know, but she comforted herself in the knowledge that she could handle it if and when it arrived.

Bekanntheit looked pleased at its mistress's obvious change in mood and perspective.

"Bekanntheit," Fumiko said as her favorite gun materialized in her hand. "I think I'd like to train some, if you don't mind."

'_Target practice?' Bekanntheit asked, shocked. 'We haven't done that in so long, mistress!'_

"Yes," Fumiko smiled, pulling a small pouch out of her dress pocket. "But you must promise not to laugh if I can't hit them right away!"

'_I promise,' _Bekanntheit said. _'But, mostly because I can't laugh…'_

* * *

Fumiko left her library, her spirits tremendously lifted. Sun shone through the dome and covered the library, the brightest light that had ever touched it.

"N-Field, huh? It just looks like a bunch of doors to me," Mizuki muttered softly as they ventured throughout the strange world.

"The doors lead to different worlds, you dolt," Suiseiseki hissed. "If you had been listening earlier, you would have known that!"

"Calm down, Suiseiseki," Souseiseki reprimanded lightly, sighing. "Do you have to yell so much? It echoes…"

Mizuki smiled as she looked around. The past month of her life had been filled with a lot of pain. A lot of pain, and even more loneliness. It was a nice change, to hear a normal, petty argument again. Even if who it was coming from was not exactly normal. Mizuki still could not make sense of the existence of the two dolls in front of her. Although her mind had always been open to idea of inanimate objects being sentient to a point, the dolls in front of her were just so… _human. _Almost disturbingly so. But now, it concerned her little. What concerned her more at this moment was her sudden, drastic switch in mood from last night. She supposed she had sorely missed the company of friends and the like, as her friends had not come to visit her in a long time. Gazing at her bandaged arms and pressing a hand lightly against her burned face, she wondered if she looked that horribly disfigured.

'_I still have all of my limbs,' _Mizuki noted quietly. _'I still look human.'_

And all this, due to her strange fascination with fire and a freak accident with her electric violin. Mizuki almost hated herself for it, even if it had granted her the free time she had wanted so badly. She had been able to work on her novel almost nonstop, even if it was straining on her hands, and the doctor had said she would be able to play her electric violin again (albeit not the same one, as it was now a charred mess) as soon as her hands healed completely. She would also be able to return to school in a next year, with the exception of gym classes. And, her entire body would heal, minus her eye and left side of her face. So why did the entire mess still bother her so much?

The accident had not left her head once, not in the entire month she had put between her and it. It had been such a boringly normal day until that moment, she remembered. She had arrived to school a few minutes late, taken all of her notes at a slightly less than steady pace, and then rushed off to the small music club just upstairs. There, her friends were waiting for her. They goofed off, as per usual, and ingested more cake than most people would on their own birthday. But then, their bassist had insisted they practice. Mizuki was slightly reluctant to do so, but she knew she was very out of practice.

She had picked up her electric violin out of its ivory case, and begun plugging it into the wall behind them. She knew it wasn't the safest thing, having that many instruments plugged into one, very small room, but her mind had been thinking about everything in the world but that. Before she could blink, a small volt of electricity had run up the cord, and right up her arm. She could not remember what happened after that for a while, so she had filled in the missing part by assuming she had been electrocuted and passed out. She had woken up in the arms of the drummer, who had been trying desperately to give her CPR. The room was now ablaze, her violin becoming a charred mess behind them. Tears of horror had filled her eyes.

'_We need to get out of here!' _the bassist had yelled furiously, helping Mizuki to her feet and taking off behind the rest. The drummer had rung the fire alarm and followed them out. Mizuki could not tear her eyes away from the fire, not for a moment. She had always had a strange fascination with the element, but she had also always thought if she were facing her death she would be able to move. Then, a loud, crashing noise brought her out of her reverie, causing her to face the unimaginable. Just as the last of the band members had filed out, part of the ceiling above her had collapsed, trapping her inside the burning room. She could hear her friends furiously banging on the door, screaming her name. Mizuki could not respond, but she could register the pain she felt at that moment. Her arms had been licked by the rising flames several times, and her legs were in no better shape. The left side of her face had felt strangely warm for a moment before losing feeling entirely, which scared her more than any of her injuries. Coughing loudly, she began to throw open the windows, desperately gasping for air as the sound of approaching fire trucks filled her ears. As she surveyed the burning room, she knew that there was no way they would make it in time. Her only option to survive, she knew, was to jump. She had noticed the gathering of students around the building, and almost felt sorry for the sight they were about to witness. This could warrant a broken neck, a broken back, or even worse. But she knew she would rather face any of those things at this moment than burn alive. The last thing she could remember of that day was the rush of air leaving her lungs as she hit the ground and a sharp pain in her eye.

"Human!" this voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "I don't know what happened, Souseiseki, she was just babbling about some school fire, and she started screaming and bawling like that!"

Mizuki had not noticed her descent into a panic attack as those events played in her mind yet again. She slowly tried wiping at the tears on her face, ignoring the pain it brought. This had happened several times, although the recovery was quick. Taking a deep breath, she sat up and met the concerned – and frightened – gazes of the two dolls in front of her.

"Are you alright?" Souseiseki asked cautiously before turning to her twin. "We need to go home now, Suiseiseki. Take her other hand."

Mizuki was unaware of what happened in the next few moments, until she landed on the cold, hardwood floor of her room again.

"I swear, humans are so fragile," Suiseiseki cursed softly. "Human? Can't you talk?"

"You heard, didn't you?" Mizuki said, her voice regaining a normal tone. "I got burned in a fire at school."

"It sounded like a little more than that," Suiseiseki retorted. "What about jumping out of the building and knocking your whole damn eye out?!"

"Suiseiseki," Souseiseki reprimanded quickly. "She doesn't want to talk about it."

Suiseiseki sighed, obviously frustrated. "I just don't understand these humans, Souseiseki!"

Souseiseki offered a small look of sympathy in her twin's direction, but she did not know what else she could do. She had not understood any of the babbling that had exploded out of Mizuki's mouth, other than what Suiseiseki had heard. If she put the pieces together, it sounded like she had been playing an instrument when her classroom had caught on fire, and she had been trapped inside to burn until she managed to get the windows open and jump out. She could plainly see the injuries it had left; that much was true.

Mizuki, who was now feeling a little better, prepared to stand up and walk back to her bed, but was met head-on by Suiseiseki, who was holding a cup of steaming liquid in her hand.

"Here," Suiseiseki offered uncomfortably, shoving the cup into the girl's hands. "Drink this and go to bed, or something, yes? Souseiseki and I need to find our sisters."

"Oh," Mizuki yawned out, taking the cup and sipping the liquid gently as she moved slowly back to her bed. "Sisters, huh? Don't run into mine on the way out, by the way…"

"Will do," Souseiseki said, even though Mizuki had already fallen asleep. She then turned to Suiseiseki, who looked as if she were contemplating something carefully. "Did you really want to find the others right now?"

Suiseiseki laughed nervously. "M-Maybe not right _now._"

Souseiseki raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then what do you want to do?"

Suiseiseki sucked in a deep breath, knowing the response her idea was going to receive. "I want to visit that girl's dreams, Souseiseki."

"That's very intrusive," Souseiseki noted dully. "But, against my better judgment…I will help you."

"Sui-Dream!" Suiseiseki called out as she opened her case. "Souseiseki and I need your help now, yes."

* * *

Yuki-Koori never thought, not once in her life, that she would seek comfort in the sixth doll of Rozen Maiden. The childish doll was hardly capable of sympathetic feelings as far as Yuki-Koori knew, but she was her last and only option at the moment. She had showed up to the Sakurada household wet, tired, and horribly upset moments ago, but Nori had taken care to help the girl dry off before Hina-Ichigo had come in the room, wondering what the commotion was about.

"She just left," Yuki-Koori said sadly, holding her head. "Said something about needing to protect me, and that Takumi wasn't giving her enough energy, and just…left. D'you think she's okay, Hina?"

Hina-Ichigo looked to be rolling the information around in her mind for a moment. "Hina thinks so. Why wouldn't Fumi be okay?"

Yuki-Koori sighed loudly. "It's just not like her to just leave with such…I don't know, hasty reasoning?"

"But," Hina-Ichigo began. "Fumi just wants to protect you, right? What's so bad about that?"

Yuki-Koori made a sour face. "I'd rather have her around here than be 'protected'. I can protect myself, y'know."

"Did you tell Fumi that?" Hina-Ichigo asked. "Maybe she would have stayed…"

"No," Yuki-Koori said quietly. "I wanted to respect her decision to leave, no matter how badly I hated watching her go. I just thought that everything would be okay for once, even though we were living together."

Hina-Ichigo seemed confused. "Living together is bad? But, Shinku and Hina live together! And Suiseiseki and Souseiseki always live together, too!"

"Nah," Yuki-Koori shrugged. "We just…always shared the same medium. This time we didn't have to, even though we were living under the same roof, 'cause they were siblings. I just thought everything would work out alright..."

"It will work out," Hina-Ichigo reassured the girl. "Hina knows so."

Before Yuki-Koori could speak again, Shinku walked into the room. She looked at the pair, slightly confused.

"I didn't know you were here, Yuki-Koori," Shinku noted aloud. "What are you doing here?"

Hina-Ichigo butt in. "Yuki was feeling sad because Fumi left!"

Shinku raised an eyebrow. "Fumiko left? Why is that?"

"She ran off to find another medium," Yuki-Koori explained, sighing. "I don't know what went wrong. She just came home really late last night, woke me up, and kept yakking at me about how she wanted to protect me and how Takumi wasn't giving her enough energy to do that. And then she…just left."

Shinku seemed surprised. Because of the circumstances Yuki-Koori and Fumiko had been put under when they had been born, they were almost as inseparable as the gardener twins were. She could understand why Yuki-Koori was upset, but she wasn't quite far enough in dealing with another problem to offer her many comforting words. Hina-Ichigo was good for that, she knew. The childish doll could show an unlikely amount of compassion; she had seen it firsthand.

"It's all because of that damn Kirakishou," Yuki-Koori growled suddenly.

Kirakishou. Shinku had heard little of her, since they had not come in contact firsthand yet, but she knew that she was the seventh doll. She was a very strange one, according to what Fumiko had told her early last night, after she, Kanaria, Yuki-Koori, and the loner doll had been in some sort of fight with her. According to Kanaria, she was extremely attached to Suigintou, which perturbed her to no end.

But, Kanaria had also given her one last piece of information that night. Suiseiseki and Souseiseki had just woken up. Although she knew Kanaria wasn't the most reliable resource, she usually was correct when it came to something of that nature. And Yuki-Koori's artificial spirit, who was able to sense the awakening of their sisters, was able to confirm this. That meant that all nine of them were awake now. The Alice Game was now completely inevitable, and it was especially intensified now that she had learned the nature of the seventh doll. Losing her Rosa Mystica was something she'd rather avoid. But, even so, she knew losing her sisters was also something she'd rather avoid, even more. No matter what, though, it was impossible. It was the dirty task they had been assigned, and she knew too many of them wanted to stick with it for any compromise to be made. Even though Shinku did not often consider herself some sort of peacemaker amongst her sisters, this era had been changing. Short, but very changing. And not just for her; that was apparent now. But, the rapid awakening of her sisters said to Shinku that her father and Laplace had set this up. Rozen was beyond ready for the Alice Game to end. Even the young Hina-Ichigo, she thought, was beginning to realize that. Did she know she had been technically disqualified from the Alice Game? Hina-Ichigo had always surprised Shinku with what she did and did not know, so she thought it was possible. Although Shinku was extremely reluctant to admit this, even to herself, Hina-Ichigo was going to die. As soon as their Father realized they were connected via contract, he would do something about it. It was never what Shinku had intended, but it was what was going to happen. But she knew Hina-Ichigo wouldn't be alone for long. Some of her sisters were certain to follow into the sea of unconsciousness soon enough.

After all, how long could you prolong facing something that was right in front of you?

Not long. She had learned that from sheer experience.

All that was left now is to see how the events of the Alice Game would turn. Shinku knew she had a good chance of surviving, compared to Kanaria or Hina-Ichigo. But, Suigintou was going to be after her, along with whatever other sisters wanted to pick her off first. It was something that had kept the fifth doll of Rozen Maiden awake at night quite often lately; no matter how much she prided herself in getting a goodnight's rest.

The next thing Shinku was aware of was a hand on her shoulder. Yuki-Koori was behind her, looking slightly concerned.

"Are you thinking about the Alice Game?" Yuki-Koori asked. "I was, too. All of us are awake now. It's all a matter of Kirakishou setting up the tables how she wants, and we're screwed. We have to get the upper hand before she does."

"That doll cannot leave the N-Field, correct?" Shinku asked, moving over the couch as she prepared to continue her ritual of watching Detective KunKun until Nori came home and forced Jun to come downstairs.

"Yeah," Yuki-Koori confirmed. "As long as we can keep potential host bodies from her, she'll stay there. I'd imagine that's the only way we could prolong the Alice Game any further."

"Potential host bodies?" Shinku asked curiously, momentarily forgetting about Detective KunKun's open credits as they played in front of her. "What do you mean?"

"I don't even know what I mean," Yuki-Koori grumbled. "As far as I know, the little crazy wants to kill Sekihi and take over her body, since she's only a spirit and all."

Hina-Ichigo ventured over to the television, gazing curiously at her two conversing sisters. "So… KiraKira is bad?"

"Definitely, kid," Yuki-Koori said, giving Hina-Ichigo an affectionate pat on the head. She looked back at Shinku at that moment, and she shared the same shocked look of recognition as she did.

"Hina-Ichigo is a potential target, too? Yuki-Koori mouthed in Shinku's direction. Shinku grimaced before turning back to the television, trying to erase all thoughts of what had just hit her.

The Alice Game was going to be interesting for Laplace, who watched the maidens' conversation from afar.

Upon returning home that evening, Yuki-Koori was greeted with Sekihi, who was 'home' again. The two maidens had stared at each other for a moment before Sekihi had ventured over to the distraught maiden and wrapped her arms around her.

"What are you doing?" Yuki-Koori asked, holding back a snicker at Sekihi's attempt at a hug. "I thought you'd be in the N-Field."

"I heard about Fumiko leaving," Sekihi said casually. "I'm sorry. But she really does care about you, Yuki-Koori."

"I know," Yuki-Koori said. "I'm just worried about her. You may not know much about our Alice Game, but it's definitely about to begin."

"The Alice Game," Sekihi began. "Your…_our _father created it so as to find his Alice. She's perfect, I have heard."

"Still not used to the whole 'I'm actually related to these dolls' thing?" Yuki-Koori asked, smiling a little.

"No, but I won't refuse to accept it," Sekihi sighed. "But, while you're here, I want to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" Yuki-Koori asked, sitting down at the dining room table. Sekihi followed, sitting awkwardly across from her.

"I've been alive for a very long time, Yuki-Koori," Sekihi said. "I have seen friend and foe alike fall into the sea of unconsciousness, some even at my own hands. I don't know exactly how old I am, but I feel like I have served my purpose."

"What are you trying to say?" Yuki-Koori asked, extremely confused. "You're going to just die now because you feel like you've served your purpose here?"

"No," Sekihi said. "I'd like to…go out with a bang. And you can help me, can't you?"

Yuki-Koori wrinkled her nose. "Assisted suicide isn't really up my alley, Sekihi."

"No!" Sekihi huffed out. "Listen, Yuki-Koori. I'd like to fight in the Alice Game. But, I don't want to get in the way where I really don't belong. I thought about who I'd like to see win…and it's you. I think we could be an unstoppable force: fire and ice."

"Are you serious?" Yuki-Koori asked after a long, painfully awkward silence between the two. "You want to risk dying to protect me during the Alice Game?"

Sekihi nodded. "I thought it might make up for what I have done. I am the reason Kirakishou has a bone to pick with you and Fumiko now, you know."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Yuki-Koori laughed a little. "But you don't have to join me in the Alice Game. I'm sure there are other dolls around that you could become friends with, Sekihi. I want to fight the Alice Game fairly."

Sekihi frowned. "I see. But, would you at least consider it…sister?"

Yuki-Koori sighed. "Sure, whatever you want…sis."

Unbeknownst to them, Takana and Takumi had come home from school and had picked up on the last part of their conversation.

"The Alice Game is starting?" Takumi asked worriedly, eyeing the area where Fumiko's bronze ring had been last night before she had ended the covenant between them.

"Don't worry about it," Sekihi said nonchalantly, her tone almost cheerful. "I'll protect Yuki-Koori."

"No you won't!" Yuki-Koori grouched as a rush of heat went to her cheeks. "I can protect myself just fine, got it?"

Takana eyed the exchange before speaking. "Is the Alice Game really about to begin, guys?"

"Yes," Sekihi confirmed. "All nine of the Rozen Maiden dolls are awake now. The Alice Game, at this point, is inevitable and no longer able to be prolonged."

Takumi escaped to his room at that moment, unable to bear hearing about the Alice Game any longer. Takana looked up worriedly, but Yuki-Koori got up from her chair and followed him.

"Takumi?" Yuki-Koori called out. "What's wrong with you, kid?"

Takumi did not answer, but she noticed he had ventured into his room and locked the door. Sighing, she grabbed the pin she had been using to hold her bangs out of her eyes and opened the locked door. The first thing she heard upon opening the door was the muffled sobs of the boy, which only made her hate the Alice Game even more than she already did. She still had no idea why he had taken such a quick liking to her, but she knew she had to fix this. She stood beside Takumi, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. He looked up, quickly wiping away any leftover tears.

"Hey," Yuki-Koori started, biting her lip gently. "I really don't understand why you're so upset."

"I don't want to lose you!" Takumi grouched. "You're my best friend, Yuki-Koori!"

Yuki-Koori bit her lip even harder. "Well, shucks…"

"Do you really have to fight in the Alice Game?" Takumi asked weakly. "Can't you just stay with Takana and me?"

"The Alice Game is my…duty," Yuki-Koori said. "I'm sorry, but I have to try to win. It's hard on me, too, Takumi. Fumiko's gone off, Sekihi's talking about killing herself trying to protect me, and she and Hina-Ichigo are both potential targets for Kirakishou's desire for a physical body! It's crazy, and I hate it, Takumi. I wish I could stay here with you and Takana for the rest of… _your _lives, but I can't."

"I get it," Takumi said, slumping over to his bed. "I'm sorry."

Yuki-Koori followed him again, sighing loudly. "Thank you, Takumi. I don't know why you've taken such a quick and easy liking to me, but I appreciate it. You've been a great friend."

Takumi smiled a little. "You were never hard to like. You're a lot of fun, Yuki."

Yuki-Koori smiled back. "Yeah, I know. Are you alright now?"

Takumi sucked in a deep breath. "I'm fine. But, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Sure," Yuki-Koori yawned out, already exhausted by the day's events. "What is it?"

"Could I…stay with you during the Alice Game?" Takumi asked carefully. "The Sakurada boy and I were talking earlier, and he's going to stay with Shinku during the Alice Game. I thought, maybe, I could stay with you, too."

Yuki-Koori grimaced slightly. "I guess if Shinku's letting her medium stay, you can stay. It's not like she'd purposefully put him in danger, I suppose. But, let's not talk about the Alice Game anymore."

"Gladly," Takumi sighed out, relieved.

"Hm," Yuki-Koori murmured, flopping back onto Takumi's bed. Before Takumi could ask about it, Yuki-Koori had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly. He pulled the covers over her, careful not to smother her under their weight, and went back downstairs to face his sister and Sekihi.

His sister had already left for Kendo practice, but Sekihi still sat at the dining room table, now quietly sipping on a glass of what appeared to be orange juice.

"Sekihi?" Takumi asked, biting his lip. "I have to ask you something."

"Oh, you're feeling better?" Sekihi asked, placing her cup back on the table. "What is it?"

"Please," he started, awkwardly clasping his hands together. "Protect Yuki-Koori. I know it's a lot to ask, but since you had already offered, I figured…"

Sekihi smiled softly. "Don't worry about Yuki-Koori, Takumi. She's got everything figured out, even when it comes to Fumiko. You don't give her enough credit, you know."

"What do you mean?" Takumi asked, taking a seat beside the doll.

"You might not realize this, but Yuki-Koori is a strong doll," Sekihi said, her voice holding no sign that's she was reluctant to admit this. "I would know. But, I'll do what I can, if it makes you sleep easier. I'd like to see her to victory."

Takumi seemed satisfied then. "Thank you."

Sekihi simply smiled to herself. "Told you I could figure things out before you, Kirakishou. It's simply in my nature, you see?"

* * *

In the far reaches of the N-Field, Kirakishou stood alone.

She had always stood here alone. Although most of the time this would bother her, as of now she was satisfied. She had truly come in contact with most of her sisters. It was very much different than watching them through her telltale crystals, that was for sure. She could physically touch them, and even talk to them. But now that she had relished in that feeling, she knew it was time to act. She had to enter herself into the Alice Game, and soon. She perched herself upon a swing held together by her rose vines and gazed into her crystals. This crystal showed her a picture of two of her older sisters, Shinku and Hina-Ichigo. She smiled, letting the scene play in front of her. The two seemed to be enjoying a nice dinner, and having a petty argument with each other about something that had been playing on the television. She had no idea what a television was, but she assumed it worked something like her crystals.

Kirakishou strongly desired to meet Shinku. She was blessed with quite the pretty face, and seemed very strong compared to a good portion of her sisters. Although none could hold a candle to her Suigintou, she did want to meet this sister.

And, working even more to her advantage, Hina-Ichigo was also there. Normally, she would not pay much attention to the weak child unless the Alice Game was taking place, but she had something she most desperately needed. Hina-Ichigo had been beaten in the Alice Game. Her Rosa Mystica would leave her body once their father discovered of the small deal she and Shinku had made, and her body would be up for grabs. It would be a lot easier than constantly chasing down Sekihi, who still wasn't a Rozen Maiden, even though they were still siblings.

"That's lovely," Kirakishou murmured, stroking the crystal lightly where Hina-Ichigo's face was. "Hina-Ichigo is very pretty. I could meet Shinku and obtain a physical body, too!"

Laplace appeared behind the elated doll. "You look happy, milady. Could it be that you have made a decision concerning the Alice Game?"

"I was," Kirakishou said carefully, eyeing the rabbit warily. "Until you showed up, that is. I have to think, Laplace, and you're not helping."

"I was only wondering if you would be willing to share your ideas," Laplace, who appeared to be comfortable with letting his riddle-filled prose slide around the seventh doll, said. "Perhaps having them out in the open will help you act more quickly."

"Yes, you're right," Kirakishou murmured. "I intend to lure Shinku and Hina-Ichigo into the N-Field tonight. I've always wanted to meet Shinku…and Hina-Ichigo has been eliminated from the Alice Game on a technicality. She will be an easy target to obtain a physical body from once I divert Shinku's attention elsewhere. Perhaps I could set up a fight between her and big sister Suigintou."

"Cunning as ever, milady," Laplace commented shortly. "You seem to have the upper hand despite your disadvantage."

"Did you expect anything less, Laplace?" Kirakishou giggled, holding her face in delight. "Shinku, Hina-Ichigo, your little sister is coming! I hope you're prepared."

**A/N: Longest chapter I've written so far…but without the Internet for several days it was a piece of cake. I hope it's good. Wow, remember when I said I wasn't going to make any more OCs…?**

…

**Sorry?**

**I just don't like Suiseiseki and Souseiseki's other mediums. (Minus Jun, if he counts. Surprisingly enough, I like him. He needs more lines. I'll work on it next chapter. :P) **

**See ya! ^w^**


	8. Chapter 8 (Grown Up Doll)

As many books Fumiko knew she had picked up and read in her life time, she had never considered writing her own.

"I could write my own book," the heavily sleep-deprived doll murmured from her place at a small table, resting in her own arms. "Or perhaps a biography. I could write about a lot, I've been alive since…some year…"

She had been talking in this nonsense filled fashion for the past hour, never bothering to lift her head from her folded arms. Even though she could hardly bare to admit it, even to herself, she was waiting. For her sister, for her friend.

She was waiting for Yuki-Koori.

Fumiko knew she had done the doll very wrong by leaving her side in order to find a new master. Although her intentions were good in every way, Yuki-Koori had not realized this. Or, perhaps she did? Was Fumiko's company worth more to Yuki-Koori than her own protection? Fumiko had rolled these questions through her mind several times, but with no definite answer. Her brain was mocking her, she thought. Just go back and ask her, it said. Stop being stupid, it said. Yuki-Koori can protect herself, so give her the credit she deserves if you care about her that much, it said. Fumiko whined softly, cursing the more logical side of her. Was Yuki-Koori upset with her? She had come to her N-Field to keep her company nearly every night. But tonight, the library was empty. Save for its master, of course.

Yuki-Koori wasn't coming.

Fumiko knew this. Yet, why did she continue to hope? She wasn't a hopeful doll. When she saw herself in the next two weeks, it was at the bottom of the sea of unconscious, holding on to whatever memories she was allowed to keep. When she saw herself in the next two months, it was gazing upon whoever had taken the title of Alice, and watching her Father shower his love on this girl, envious feelings drowning her. And, in the next two years, she saw herself forgotten. She would gaze upon her fallen sisters, and they would not recognize her face. They would stare, with empty eyes, back at her. Fumiko would no longer be loved.

She shook her head furiously.

"I won't lie to myself anymore," she chuckled quietly, curling her jointed fingers so tightly they began to crack and whine in protest. "I made this choice, and I will accept it. I need to find a master now."

Fumiko wasn't entirely comfortable with presenting herself in front of humans. Yet, this was urgent. She could feel her springs creaking in protest, threatening to put her back to sleep if she dared waste any more time. Taking a piece of paper and pen tucked deep inside a copy of _War and Peace, _she began to write.

_To whomever this letter reaches,_

_You have been chosen to accept a mysterious doll. Or something of that sort. Do you believe in sentient dolls? I doubt it; you're probably some brat who decided to tell all the children at school Santa wasn't real, either. _

_Bekanntheit, spirit of the ninth doll of the Rozens_

"_M-Mistress!" _Bekanntheit sputtered out. "_I had nothing to do with that letter! Take my name off of it!"_

"I don't care," Fumiko shrugged, grinning mischievously. "You're my spirit, and your name is supposed to be on these letters. But, I felt like writing one this time."

Bekanntheit sighed, but protested no more. _"Fine. I will deliver this…poor excuse for a letter, then."_

"Good," Fumiko said evenly, lifting her head and running her fingers through her hair. Once the flittering light of her artificial spirit had completely left her sight, she sighed. It was becoming hard to move, most likely due to her lack of power at the moment. Leaving the covenant with Takumi was proving to be one of her…not so good ideas. If she had enough nerve to do so at the moment, she would simply conjure up a sincere 'I'm sorry', and return home to her sisters. But for now, she supposed she should simply stop complaining and wait for Bekanntheit to return. Almost on cue, the little lavender ball appeared by the side again. She looked up at it curiously, wondering if it had found a home for her already. As the letter was now gone, this could either mean that the little spirit had found her a medium…or it had dropped it somewhere in the past three minutes.

"_Come, mistress," _the spirit said, its voice calm, but with a certain edge that Fumiko could not place well. _"One has answered the call."_

"With a letter like that…" Fumiko muttered quietly, gathering her things and stretching her sore joints. "Perhaps I amused someone, Bekanntheit."

The trip from the N-Field left Fumiko feeling slightly paranoid, especially since Kirakishou was still wandering amuck, and probably very angry. She definitely would not be able to take her on by herself, and without a medium it only further complicated the situation. Stealing quick glances over her shoulder proved to offer little comfort, but Bekanntheit assured her that no one particularly threatening was around. Before she could ask the spirit what it meant by 'particularly' threatening, two small hands wrapped themselves around her face and covered her eyes.

"Guess who?!"

Fumiko shrieked, jumping back and almost knocking right into whoever had decided to sneak up on her. The mischievous doll was not phased though, and after listening to her laugh for a few seconds, Fumiko was able to place it as none other than her 'long lost sister', Sekihi. The relief than ran through her was just barely enough to placate the underlying urge she felt to put a bullet in the doll's other arm.

"Yup, me," Sekihi spoke calmly, adjusting her slightly ajar beret. "How are you doing, sister? I've been looking for you for a while."

"Is that so?" Fumiko murmured, slightly embarrassed. "What for? Is everything alright at…home?"

Sekihi shrugged slightly. "It would depend on what you consider 'alright', I suppose. Yuki-Koori's still upset, but she's doing alright compared to yesterday. Takumi and Takana are both worried about the Alice Game, but I suppose that would happen whether you were here or not. Oh, yes, and I must admit that I miss you a bit, as well."

"I'm sorry," Fumiko sighed out. "But you understand my leaving, don't you?"

Sekihi nodded. "You love your sister very much. Yuki-Koori is definitely much loved where you're concerned. She understands that, too, I would think. But, can we talk?"

Fumiko bit her lip slightly. "I suppose my springs will be slower to unwind here. But either way, make it quick."

"Your springs are unwinding?" Sekihi asked, slightly confused. "Why?"

"I have no medium," Fumiko sighed. "They've been doing this since I ended the covenant with little Takumi. Can this wait, Sekihi? I really must be heading off to my new medium's house."

Sekihi frowned. "Not really. But in the interesting of keeping you awake, I'll follow you to this person's house. We can talk along the way."

Fumiko sighed a little, only barely escaping the temptation of asking why Yuki-Koori hadn't come along with her. Still, she was slightly relieved. She wasn't quite ready to face Yuki-Koori yet. Sekihi was leading her to the real world, so she assumed Bekanntheit had already informed her of where they were going.

"What did you want to talk about?" Fumiko asked hesitantly, rushing to catch up with her. "It was obviously pretty important."

Sekihi nodded. "I wanted to talk about preparations for the Alice Game. Are you and Yuki-Koori ready to…fight each other?"

Fumiko visibly stiffened, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm not going to fight her. Whether she wants to fight me or not is up to her. If that's all you wanted, please leave."

Sekihi raised her arms defensively. "No! I'm sorry; that was insensitive of me."

"I'll say," Fumiko grumbled, but let it go. "Hey, where are we going, anyway?"

Sekihi looked around at their surroundings. They were flying over their own town, trees and the occasional house whipping by them at top speed as they flew behind Fumiko's artificial spirit, who appeared to have no intentions of letting them know where it was taking them. Fumiko sighed loudly, her eyes squinting heavily as she attempted to make out the buildings around them. It was still dark outside, although morning was rapidly approaching. Only then did she register the extreme fatigue running throughout her body. Not only were her springs unwinding, she had also not slept since leaving home, either. It was becoming more of a struggle to keep up with Sekihi by the moment, which the doll eventually took notice of.

"Are you alright?" Sekihi asked carefully, watching her sister's eyes drift shut and open back up as she struggled to keep up with her. "Fumiko?"

The next thing Sekihi knew, Fumiko was hurtling toward the ground, apparently completely unable to move anymore. Bekanntheit also appeared to be nowhere in sight, which only caused even more tension on Sekihi's part. Looking around, she dived down behind her, wrapping her hands around her waist and attempting to protect her from the onslaught of trees around them. Although she attempted to regain flight several times, Fumiko was quite a bit bigger than the poor doll. Before she could so much as yelp, they were both thrown violently to the ground.

"Ouch," Fumiko murmured, although she could not hear herself over the loud cracking her body was making as she attempted to move. "What happened, Sekihi? Sekihi, where are you?"

"Thank goodness, you're alright," Sekihi sighed, ignoring the throbbing pain in her arm as she moved back over to Fumiko, gently brushing the dirt and leaves out of her hair. "Don't move. I need to get you somewhere to make a contract immediately. Hang in there."

"Alright," Fumiko sighed out, closing her eyes momentarily as her head spun. "I'm sorry; I won't be easy to lift."

"I figured that out when we went hurtling toward the ground at a hundred kilometers an hour," Sekihi chuckled quietly, but still grabbed Fumiko and placed her against her back. "I somehow doubt you've ever gotten one of these before. Humans call it a piggyback ride."

"Is that so?" Fumiko yawned, nuzzling into Sekihi's shoulder. "I'm exhausted."

"Don't sleep yet," Sekihi frowned. "Do you know where we are, at least? I need to get some sucker human to enter the covenant with you."

Fumiko chuckled a little, opening her eyes and glancing around. "We appear to be around the Sakurada house. Two or three of my siblings live here."

"How convenient," Sekihi grumbled. "Alright, we're going in. Do you suppose anyone will be awake?"

"Doubt it," Fumiko sighed loudly, wrapping her legs around Sekihi's waist. "But we have to try something. If I go to sleep… we'll have to be thrown into another era of the Alice Game. I just want it to end already, Sekihi."

Sekihi bit her lip. "I see. Let's go in, then. Hang on."

Sekihi slowly walked up to the door, reaching up and ringing the bell. Much to her surprise, a young woman came to the door no less than fifteen seconds later. Sekihi could not look up far, as Fumiko was currently nuzzled deeply into her neck and fast asleep, but she still attempted to speak.

"Please, help," Sekihi puffed out. "You've contracted with a Rozen Maiden before, haven't you? Help her out."

"A-Ah…" the girl stuttered out. "I mean…my brother has, but…"

"Please hurry," Sekihi grouched as the cracking sound of unwinding springs became even louder behind her. "Her springs are unwinding. Just hurry up!"

This ruckus had apparently gathered the attention of the household's other Rozen Maiden dolls. A sleepy Hina-Ichigo and slightly irritated Shinku made their way downstairs, eyeing the front door with a little curiosity.

"You're Sekihi," Shinku spoke cautiously as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Then, she noticed her apparently sleeping sister rested against her back. "What did you do to her? Tell me this instant!"

Sekihi snarled, taking a slightly more defensive position. "Don't look at me like that, Reiner Rubin; her springs are unwinding. She was the one who ended the contract with her medium. I did nothing!"

Shinku's eyes narrowed further, although she begrudgingly accepted this explanation. "Well? What are you waiting for, Nori? You have wished you could do this, have you not?"

"W-Well, I guess I did say that once or twice…" Nori whispered, gazing at the sleeping doll on Sekihi's back. Sekihi set her down carefully on the couch, making room for Nori to approach her. She did so cautiously, yelping in surprise when a bronze ring appeared on her finger. Hina-Ichigo peered over the couch at her sleeping sister worriedly, looking between her and Nori repeatedly. Nori bent down slowly, slightly embarrassed at her audience, but still kissed the ring. A brilliant purple glow lit up the room, bringing out a happy cheer from Hina-Ichigo and a slightly relieved smile from Sekihi.

"Well?" Shinku asked shortly. "Are you going to wake up, Fumiko?"

Fumiko stirred gently, moved by the new power that flowed through her body. Her eyes snapped open, taking in her surroundings. She was on the couch in the living room of the Sakurada house, with four pairs of eyes watching her slow awakening curiously. Then, her eyes fell upon a bronze ring on the finger of a girl who looked to be about Takana's age. Fumiko thought quiet that she must be the master of the household. And, more importantly now, her new medium. The power that she had received from the contract was almost as much as she'd felt when she contracted with Anja, which surprised her quite a bit. Sighing, she got up from the couch and walked over towards Sekihi.

"Thank you," Fumiko said. "You've saved me. I definitely owe you quite a bit, Sekihi."

Sekihi forced a small smile, although her thoughts were elsewhere. She felt extremely guilty. Even though she enjoyed the company of Fumiko, she was still helping Yuki-Koori win the Alice Game. Although she had come to question her morals more than once in the past few weeks since she'd met the eighth and ninth dolls, this brought on more guilt than she thought imaginable from a doll like her. When she thought about this even more deeply, she questioned herself again. Why was she helping the eighth doll in the Alice Game? She did care for the eighth doll, for reasons she could not begin to fathom. But still, it seemed like this reason was overrun by something else altogether.

She wanted revenge against Kirakishou. Although Sekihi did not consider herself entirely needy of company, it had still hurt to be betrayed as she was. When Kirakishou had taken her in like she did, she had allowed herself to hope. In all her thousand years of living, she had been alone. She could not remember Rozen, her own creator; even though Laplace assured the Maidens that she was indeed created by him. And not only that, but she was his first successful living doll. And yet, in her mind, she had been forgotten. To think that another doll would take her in and care for like that, it had brought on unprecedented amounts of joy. It was a feeling that Sekihi had almost not allowed herself to feel much before.

Much like the seventh doll, she had become crazed by loneliness. That was apparent to her now.

And that, she knew, was why she had taken so kindly to Yuki-Koori and Fumiko. They had taken her in as family, and had nothing but genuine intentions as far as she was concerned. It was a very foreign situation for her. The eighth and ninth dolls were, unarguably, very friendly. Even when she had tried to kill them, and even gone as far to express her thoughts of betraying them, they had always treated her like family.

And yet, she was about to commit the most selfish act of her entire life. Using Yuki-Koori, her friend and her sister, to get back at Kirakishou.

She blinked, noticing she had been zoned out for a while, and took in her changed surroundings. Fumiko had fallen asleep at the left corner of the couch, obviously exhausted from her lack of sleep. The crack and whine of springs had stopped, though, much to her relief. Shinku and Hina-Ichigo had gone off elsewhere, most likely up to their medium's room and back to bed. The young girl, Nori, was off in the corner, apparently readying herself for school. She seemed to know that Sekihi still stood there, but was too afraid to speak to her. Taking occasional glances at the ring on her finger, she hesitantly yelled an 'I'm off, then!' before taking her leave.

Sekihi sighed, taking a seat beside Fumiko on the couch.

"I'm sorry, Fumiko. You won't owe me anything. Not after this."

* * *

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"My dreams, they are the wind," a soft voice floated throughout a lone hospital room, its single occupant singing these words through the oxygen mask on her face. "Guided by light…"

She glanced outside of her window again. Still, the evening sky remained void of her angel. She sighed, silently cursing her naivety for the hundredth time that day. After a problem earlier that evening, she had not been allowed to get up and move about as she liked. It wasn't that she particularly enjoyed visiting places outside of her room, but the cathedral across the street was a different story. How could she not want to visit there? She had, after all, met her angel there. Every night, she had prayed for a beautiful angel, one clad in black, to whisk her away. She could no longer stand gazing upon the sympathetic looks the nurses gave her. She could no longer stand the informal, awkward visits from her parents.

She could not stand being a burden.

But now, she had her angel. And her name was Suigintou, the first doll of the Rozen Maidens. Although she knew that Suigintou hated being called an angel, it was all that Kakizaki Megu could think to call this doll. She would, after all, eventually free her from the wearing binds of her disease. Anyone, or doll, that could do this for her was most definitely an angel in her eyes.

And, best of all, she had wings to boot.

"Stupid," an irritated voice muttered from the windowsill. "I'm not going to come every time you sing."

Megu smiled warmly, looking up to meet the narrowed, pink eyes of her angel. Suigintou was finally here. "But, this time, you did come. Could we talk?"

Suigintou tore her irritated gaze away from the sickly girl, glancing back out at her surroundings. "It's not as if I have anything better to do. What do you want?"

She clasped her hands together and let her face fall, almost as if she were praying. "Please, Angel, use up my power soon. I-I…I don't want to be a burden to my parents anymore."

Suigintou bit her lip, folding her arms across her chest. "You've told me already. The Alice Game will begin soon enough. Just wait; quit asking me about it."

Suigintou did not know what to think of her medium. Their contract had been made without her entire consciousness available. And, in fact, the doll could hardly remember the night she had entered the covenant with Megu. Although she could barely admit this to herself, Megu did offer her a bit more power. It was, after all, the purpose of a medium. She could not deny that much. But, the girl was weak, both physically and mentally. Along with her disease, the girl was hardly able to function mentally every day. She had heard the girl discuss her own death far more often than she found normal, even if her contact with humans was rare. The girl was absolutely morbid.

And, what she was even more reluctant to admit, they shared quite a few similarities.

"No," Suigintou muttered, just low enough for the girl to be unable to pick it up. "I am not like her. I am the doll who will become perfect. And she's just…"

Trying to appease her father.

Almost completely rejected by her father because she was flawed.

Broken.

Before Megu could turn to speak to her again, Suigintou had flown off, leaving nothing but stray black feathers in her wake.

* * *

"I feel like I'm talking to death," Yuki-Koori murmured, mostly to herself, although the target of this jibe sat merely feet away from her.

The doll smiled, although a good portion of her face was concealed by bangs. Her name was Mariposa, and she was a doll that Yuki-Koori and her sisters had grown to fear. She was the oldest doll Yuki-Koori knew, as she claimed to be somewhere around twelve hundred years old. Long, mint green tresses rolled down her shoulders and back until they hit her calves, styled in thin curls. Her skin was dark, accentuating her apparent Spanish heritage. She seemed to be a doll fond of theater, and that showed in the dress she wore. It was very long, touching the floor she sat above. Colored in various hues of greens and blues, it seemed almost like cloth stain glass. The sleeves were long and princess styled, ending at her elbows and teeming with lace. On her back were glass-looking butterfly wings, colored in the same way her dress was. Her eyes, which were currently admiring the winter-themed Yuki-Koori quietly, were a bright turquoise. The only other thing that stuck out about the doll was a strange looking pair of opera glasses constantly held close to her face. They were silver until they hit either end, in which they were decorated with wings to match the ones on her back.

"Nothing to worry about, bebé," Mariposa said, her voice holding the utmost tone of elegance. "I'm off duty for now. The little ones are ferrying now, although we haven't had as much work lately."

Mariposa was a doll to fear when it came to her job. Her job was to ferry the souls of broken dolls to the Sea of Unconsciousness. However, when it came to combat skills, she was severely lacking. Due to this skill lacking, she had hired several young dolls to fight for her. Yuki-Koori was unfamiliar with these dolls, save for one that she had met while living in Europe about forty years ago.

"Yeah, nothing," Yuki-Koori sighed, leaning back into her chair. Even though she was certainly afraid of Mariposa, she had begrudgingly admitted to herself that the girl definitely treated her guests well. Although she had stumbled into her N-Field by an accident, Mariposa had not hesitated in giving her a chair to sit in and whatever she had wanted to eat and drink.

"Really," Mariposa said. "As long as you are not dead, you have no reason to fear me. Now, why are you here?"

"I told you," Yuki-Koori huffed out. "I didn't mean to land in here. I was looking for my…friend."

Mariposa raised an eyebrow at the obviously agitated doll. "Friend? I thought you were a Rozen Maiden."

"Just because I am a Rozen Maiden doesn't mean I don't have friends," Yuki-Koori frowned, wondering how the doll had come to such a conclusion. "What made you think that, huh?"

"I remember you lot as being hostile," Mariposa murmured. "Because of what your father wanted for you."

"Not all of us are like that," Yuki-Koori shrugged as she said this. "Hell, I'm not."

"Oh," Mariposa smiled, resting her head into her folding hands. "Anyway, thank you for visiting over here, even though it was an accident. I don't get visitors often at all."

Yuki-Koori smiled a little, although she remained wary. "You're welcome, I guess. Maybe I should apologize, because you'll be getting a lot of work soon."

Mariposa raised her head, eyeing the doll with a curious look on her face. "What do you mean, bebé?"

Yuki-Koori sighed loudly. "The Alice Game is going to begin any day now. You remember the Alice Game, don't you?"

Mariposa nodded solemnly. "Yes, I remember. You and your sisters fight to the death in order to create the perfect doll. Very tragic indeed! Honestly, I was expecting to be ferrying one of you very soon. Baya pequeña, young Hina-Ichigo."

Yuki-Koori grimaced at being reminded of the fate her sister was soon to face. Although she and Shinku had discussed it thoroughly in her last visit to the Sakurada household, it still did not stop the rush of unpleasant feelings afterwards. Although she had not spent much time with Hina-Ichigo compared to her other sisters, she still held a special place in her heart. She would hate losing her.

"Don't worry," Mariposa said, leaning back into her chair in a rather dramatic fashion. "I will make sure her trip to the Sea of Unconsciousness is as painless as possible."

"I guess that's all I can hope for now," Yuki-Koori said, smiling wryly. "Thanks for the food, by the way."

"You're welcome," Mariposa said, standing up and pushing her hair back. "Was there anything else you wanted? I need to get back to work soon."

Yuki-Koori paused for a moment, but spoke up soon after. "Do you know a doll named Sekihi? She's a friend of mine now."

Mariposa smiled brightly, clasping her hands together in delight. "But, of course! She and I used to be together quite often, back in the day! Ah, she was such a little doll then, barely ten years old."

Yuki-Koori froze, astonished. "You…Mari, you knew Sekihi back then? What was she like? Did she remember our dad back then?!"

Mariposa brought her hand to her lips, stifling a small laugh. "So feisty, Yuki-Koori. I suppose I should sit back down, then."

"Sorry," Yuki-Koori breathed out, relaxing her position. "Just a few days, Laplace came and told us that Sekihi was actually another doll made by our father. And, well, his first successful living doll. Sekihi…she's an odd one, ya know? But, she's my friend."

Mariposa smiled a little. "I'm glad my little _lápida sepulcral_ made a friend. The first time I met Sekihi, she was an innocent little doll. The poor thing was barely nine or ten years old and already abandoned by that man. Why, your father is so cruel, Yuki-Koori. She was so lonely. But, she was very hopeful. She could hardly remember Rozen already by this point, but she was still hopefully that if she found them and showed him that she could be a good doll, he would accept her again. She was the most naïve doll I'd ever met, but…"

Yuki-Koori leaned closer.

"She was a very lovable doll, Yuki-Koori," Mariposa murmured, shaking her head softly. "It's always such a shame to watch a sweet doll go mad with loneliness."

Yuki-Koori grimaced. "I didn't think it happened that often…"

"You'd be surprised, then," Mariposa sighed. "When I was younger, I often felt like I'd taken second place to the other siblings my mother made for me. It's a lonely feeling. Surely you must know this."

Yuki-Koori frowned a little. "I know I should, but I don't! That… overwhelming urge to please my father left me a long time ago. It was hard for me to love someone who wouldn't acknowledge me, anyway. And besides, I always had my sisters…Fumiko especially."

Another nostalgic smile touched Mariposa's lips as she listened to Yuki-Koori. "You're a very headstrong doll, Yuki-Koori. That's why I like you. That's why Fumiko likes you."

"I miss her," Yuki-Koori muttered. "Why does she think I can't protect myself?"

Having already heard that Fumiko abandoned Yuki-Koori to find another master, all Mariposa could do was offer a slightly sympathetic smile. "I think Fumiko would like to believe that you can. But, it's the Alice Game, Yuki-Koori. Perhaps she just doesn't want to take any chances when your lives are on the line."

Yuki-Koori lifted her head, staring at Mariposa as if she'd grown a third head. "Ya know, you're a damn crazy old doll. But, I sure hope you're right about that."

Mariposa snickered, even forgetting to put her hand over her mouth. "Of course, Yuki-Koori. May I take my leave now? The little ones need me to guide them."

"Yeah, sure," Yuki-Koori said, standing up and brushing the remnants of the macaroons she'd just eaten off of her dress. "Thanks again, Mari."

"No need to thank me," Mariposa said, opening the door to her N-Field. "Here you are. Good luck with things, bebé. Send Sekihi my good wishes, as well."

Yuki-Koori smiled, exiting Mariposa's N-Field. Even though her visits were usually made on a purely accidental basis, she never had regretted talking with the doll. She was a wise doll; a doll that Yuki-Koori was glad she considered a friend. This visit, she knew, had been very important. Mariposa had told her what Sekihi had been like as a young child, something Yuki-Koori had often silently wondered. It was hard for her to imagine Sekihi being naïve, although she knew 'kind' wasn't _too _much of a stretch these days. She would have to tell her about her visit with Mariposa when she got home, she knew that much. Then, an unsettling feeling set in her joints. She was reminded of the fight she had participated in with Kirakishou. The doll was most definitely going to be getting revenge in some form, but what would it be? Who would she go after first? As she tried to get into the mind of her crazed older sister, she guessed the first step she'd be taking was trying to get to a host body. That would be Hina-Ichigo, Yuki-Koori knew. Kirakishou would probably no longer waste her time on trying to take Sekihi down, unless she was especially desperate.

Before Yuki-Koori was aware of it herself, she was sitting in front of the mirror in her own home. The voices around her caused her to be aware of this. Unfamiliar voices…adult voices…

Takana and Takumi's parents were home.

She froze, her mind racing at a hundred kilometers an hour. What was she going to do? What had she done when her previous medium's parents were around? Holding back an annoyed sigh, she lay down and closed her eyes. She had to feign normalcy. That is, she had to pretend to be a normal doll. They were in the kitchen now, Yuki-Koori tried to determine as she listened to their casual conversation about Takana's kendo tournament. But, upon hearing the sound Yuki-Koori had made when she hit the floor, their mother seemed like she wanted to investigate it further.

"Eri, you're hearing things," an irritated voice grumbled. "If there's nothing in here, I swear…"

Then, his eyes caught the doll in front of the mirror.

"Well, ain't that pretty," he muttered, his fondness of antique items taking over as he picked Yuki-Koori up gently. "That kind of talent…nothing I've seen before, really."

Eri walked into the room curiously, noticing her husband hadn't returned, and then caught eye of the beautiful doll in his arms. As she rushed over to get a better look, Yuki-Koori tried her hardest to hold back a cringe.

"_Where is that damn Takana? And Takumi!" _Yuki-Koori cursed in her head, trying desperately not to make the distaste she felt present on her face.

"Mom?" a small voice spoke from high up the stairs. "Yuk- I mean, mom, what do you have?"

"_Speak of the devil…"_

Eri smiled, turning to face her son. "Come down here, Takumi, look at what daddy found!"

Takumi grimaced, wishing he'd kept track of his parents and Yuki-Koori's locations more closely. He moved down the stairs quickly, grabbing Yuki-Koori right out of his mother's arms and holding her close, surprising his parents.

"Is that Takana's doll?" Eri asked, placing a finger under her chin. "I don't think I'd buy her something that extravagant. And, the girl loves sports, not dolls…dear, do you remember this doll?"

"Nope," he shrugged; still baffled by the way Takumi had grabbed the doll so quickly. "But it'll make a great piece for the antique sale next week, that's for sure."

Takumi knew he had to act fast. Before he could think of any elaborate reason for her appearance, anxiety took over.

"She's my doll!" he blurted out. "You can't sell her!"

"_Dang," _Yuki-Koori thought. _"You could hear a pin drop in here, I swear. Poor kid, trying to save my dumb ass…"_

"Y…Your doll, Takumi?" Eri asked, trying to put on a reassuring smile. "When did you become fond of dolls?"

"I-I'm not!" Takumi sputtered, looking down in embarrassment. "Just this one, guys! She's…she's pretty, isn't she? I was going to give it to Takana, but…"

"We won't question it," Eri said, holding her hands up defensively. "No big deal, right? It's just a doll. C-Come on dear, let's go pick Takana up from practice."

"Coming, dear…"

The door shut behind them, allowing Yuki-Koori to open her eyes again.

"I guess I should start apologizing now," Yuki-Koori said hurriedly, although the boy didn't seem mad. Relieved would be a better way to describe it, she supposed. "Sorry, Takumi. I wasn't expecting them to be home…or try to sell me…"

Takumi sighed, sitting down on the couch. "It's no problem, really. My parents are pretty cool about our interests…strange as they get. You do a pretty good job playing dead, I'll give you that."

"Thanks," Yuki-Koori grinned, deciding to get her amusement now from embarrassing the boy. "So, you think I'm pretty, huh?"

Takumi scowled, knowing what the doll was up to. "Well…I mean…duh, I guess!"

Yuki-Koori frowned a little. "Duh? Is it that obvious?"

"Uh-huh," Takumi muttered, trying to hide his flushed cheeks. "You were someone's attempt at perfection, right? Don't look at me like that!"

Yuki-Koori laughed. "Sure was. Thanks again, Takumi."

"Y-Yeah, yeah sure…" Takumi said, setting Yuki-Koori beside him and heading into the kitchen. "Enough of…that. Let's have lunch now!"

Yuki-Koori frowned. "Count me out; I already ate. I had lunch with an old friend of mine."

"Really? Takumi asked, taking out some miscellaneous food items from the cabinet above and trying to forget about the past few minutes with the doll. "Who's that?"

"Mariposa," Yuki-Koori said. "She ferries the souls of dead dolls to the Sea of Unconsciousness after they're lost. But she treats a guest pretty damn good, I'll say that much. It's like she's from…ancient Greece! Fumiko told me that once."

"Oh," Takumi said absentmindedly, finally giving up on finding any decent lunch food and grabbing a box of cookies out of the pantry. "Don't tell mom about this."

"I don't plan on telling your mom anything, Takumi," Yuki-Koori smiled. "Dummy."

"Whatever," he muttered, sitting back down on the couch and digging into the box. "What's with that smile? You look really happy about something for the first time…since Fumiko left."

Yuki-Koori nodded. "Fumiko will be alright. Hyoukai told me her new medium is the Sakurada boy's older sister. I'm just happy, don't question it."

Takumi smiled back. "Too bad, 'cause I'm curious. Why are you smiling?"

"It's nice to get a compliment once in a while, Takumi," Yuki-Koori said. "You know that, don't you?"

"Well, sure," Takumi said, turning on the television in an attempt to ignore the feelings clogging up his throat. "Compliments are nice."

Yuki-Koori peered over the boy's shoulder, finding little interest in what was on the television. "Anyway…you should answer a question of mine now."

"What is it?" Takumi asked, looking away from the television for a moment. "It'd better not be embarrassing."

"Even if it was, you still have to answer it," Yuki-Koori scowled, putting her hands on her hips. "I didn't particularly enjoy answering your question, ya know!"

"Alright, fine!" Takumi said, raising his arms in defeat. "What is it?"

"What were your parents calling each other back there?" Yuki-Koori asked, making a face. "Dear, or something; it was odd. What does it mean?"

Takumi frowned a bit. "It's hard to say…people usually call each other that when they like each other a lot. My parent's marriage has always been kind of nice like that."

Yuki-Koori smiled thoughtfully. "You humans are so much luckier than you realize, Takumi. Even if I've lived longer than your entire family combined…it'd be nice, you know? To go to school, and find somebody to love? I'm happy with the way I am, sure, but it'd be nice."

Takumi did not know what to say now. He did, truly, feel bad for his doll friend. He wished she were just a normal, human girl going to his school sometimes. Perhaps, if she won the Alice Game, that wish could be granted by her Father. It was an outlandish thing to hope for, he knew, especially since Yuki-Koori had more intentions of protecting Fumiko and Sekihi than actually winning the Alice Game. Now he definitely supported Sekihi's strange decision to protect Yuki-Koori.

Suddenly, the mirror in the living room lit up. Yuki-Koori gave it an odd look, taking a protective stance in front of Takumi incase the intruder had intentions of harming either of them, but the 'intruder' was soon revealed to be a rested, but upset looking Fumiko. Yuki-Koori lowered her arms, but her face showed an expression very similar to her sister's.

"Yuki-Koori…?" Fumiko spoke, her voice holding an overwhelming amount of guilt. "Please, can we talk?"

Yuki-Koori walked forward, wrapping her arms around her sister, although the difference in height made it slightly awkward to hold on. "I'm not mad at you, so quit looking at me like that. I get it, you wanted to protect me. It's okay, Fumiko."

Fumiko was stunned, but smiled. "That sure saves me a long apology. Thank you, Yuki-Koori; I knew you couldn't be mad at me."

Yuki-Koori let go, smiling back. "I don't think we have time to be mad at each other. You know I'd kick your butt for this if the timing weren't so horrible."

"That's true," Fumiko smiled a little. "Anyway, there's also something else I had to say. I hate to bother you so quickly after getting here, but it's urgent."

Yuki-Koori frowned. "I'm going to take a wild guess here and say it has something to with Kirakishou."

Fumiko shook her head. "Suigintou, actually. She's challenged Shinku to a battle tonight. Hina-Ichigo and I would like to come and help here, and she wondered if you'd like to help too. We're supposed to be…back-up, in a sense."

Yuki-Koori thought for a moment. "Hold on, why is Suigintou trying to start something right now? The Alice Game is so close; shouldn't she be preparing herself for that?"

"You're right," Fumiko murmured. "Everything about this seems suspicious, doesn't it?"

"I'm sure that damn Kirakishou has something to do with it," Yuki-Koori cursed, narrowing her eyebrows. "Either way, I'd like to give Suigintou and Kirakishou a piece of my mind. Let's go, sis."

"Don't!" Takumi snapped suddenly. The two dolls jumped, having been so engrossed in their conversation that they'd almost forgotten he was still sitting on the couch. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Yuki-Koori sighed. "And if I do? Takumi, at the end of all of this, one of three things is going to happen. I'll die, I'll become Alice, or we'll all be put back to sleep."

Takumi shook his head vigorously. "Or…I could give you guys a forth option, Yuki-Koori! Live! Stop the stupid Alice Game!"

Fumiko spoke up now. "As much as we'd love that, Takumi, it's nearly impossible. But if you feel that strongly, would you like to come with us?"

"No," Yuki-Koori said firmly before Takumi could speak again. "There's no reason for him to be there. If Kirakishou really is involved…no, Takumi."

Fumiko offered the boy a sympathetic smile. "If it's any consolation, I promise we'll come home if things get too out of hand."

Takumi sat back down, defeated. "Alright, fine…"

Fumiko waved at the boy, jumping back through the mirror. Yuki-Koori turned around, preparing to wave, and noticed the boy's ashen face.

"Hey," Yuki-Koori said, alerting the boy. "I'll come home soon…_dear_."

Before she could look at his reaction, she jumped through the mirror, laughing loudly.

* * *

"Jun, hurry and fetch me some tea," Shinku murmured, barely heard over the large book she held in front of her face. "Orange Pekoe, please. Hurry now."

Jun growled, turning around from his computer to face the doll. "Stop it, Shinku. You always do this when something's bother you."

Shinku gripped the sides of the book harder. "Don't question me, servant! Just make the tea now!"

"No," Jun said in the most indignant tone he could muster. "Not until you tell me why you have to fight that doll!"

"Because…it is my duty," Shinku said firmly, closing the book and setting it down. "If you won't make the tea, then Hina-Ichigo will."

Although he knew what he was about to do would result in the slap of the millennium, Jun grabbed Shinku and set her back down on the bed. She glared up at him, absolutely livid.

"How dare you," she hissed. "You still don't know your place, Jun?"

"Forget about my place, Shinku!" Jun snapped. "You don't have to listen to her, and you don't have to fight her! Isn't the Alice Game about to begin, anyway? Why would she want a one-on-one fight? It doesn't make sense, Shinku, and you need to see that!"

"Of course I see that!" Shinku snapped right back. "And I know that Kirakishou is most likely the one behind this... but, Jun, she wants to use Hina-Ichigo's physical body the second it is ready for her! If I don't show up, that would only give her an even larger window to attack her. I need to finish this, Jun. Once and for all."

Jun said back down in his computer chair, sighing loudly. "Whatever, Shinku. I'm still coming with you."

Shinku looked away, guilty feelings overwhelming her. "Do what you think is best for Hina-Ichigo, Jun. She cares about you, you know. We cannot let her down."

"I know, I know," Jun said quietly, turning back to his computer and clicking rapidly.

From outside of the room, the pink clad doll stood with a determined look on her face. "Shinku…Hina will save herself from KiraKira. Hina doesn't want the others to get hurt for me, so I won't let them fight for me!"

Shinku looked shocked at what her younger sister said. "Hina-Ichigo, don't say things like that. You cannot take Kirakishou on alone."

"So what if Hina can't?" Hina-Ichigo said, pushing the door open to face her sister and Jun. "I'd really rather go alone than see Shinku or Fumiko get hurt!"

Shinku closed her head, sighing quietly. "You can't worry about being a burden, Hina-Ichigo. Not now. Please, at least live until the real Alice Game begins. We're here to help you now; so please accept it."

Hina-Ichigo's expression faltered slightly. "Hina really wants to do something, Shinku."

Shinku could not help but smile at her sister's eagerness. She truly was growing up, and to Shinku it was incredibly admirable. "I see, Hina. Then, we need to come up with a plan. Fumiko should be back with the eighth doll soon enough."

"Right here," Yuki-Koori said, letting herself into Jun's room and smiling. "That was very grown-up of you to say, Hina-Ichigo, but we're here to help! Let's get to it!"

Hina-Ichigo smiled brightly at the compliments she'd received from her sisters, and even the approving smile from Jun. "Hina's all grown up now, huh?"

**A/N: Not particularly fond of this ending…but with the word count racking up to almost 7,500 I had to offer some sort of conclusion before it got to be too much. The fight will happen in Chapter 9, hopefully. Sorry for the slow update…does this make up for it? Maybe? :3**


	9. Chapter 9 - PART 1 (Little Strawberry)

It was a dreary afternoon.

Huge nimbus clouds formed a large, grey barrier across the sky, leaving Yuki-Koori feeling even more somber than she already was at the moment. She had decided to take a break from attack plans with her sisters, and found a little comfort in Nori's currently empty room. Could the Alice Game really be beginning already? She had not come in contact with the gardener twins yet, although her artificial spirit had insisted they were awake. Would Suiseiseki and Souseiseki be willing to help them out if they knew what was going on? Perhaps Suiseiseki would, if she knew Shinku was awake. Souseiseki, she thought, would most likely be forced to tag along. It would have been a humorous picture on any other day, but now she could only shoo the picture away from her mind and try to refocus on the task at hand.

She was never fond of strategy.

And still, there was the lingering guilt of leaving Takumi distraught and by himself at home. He was worried that this fight would take her life. As much as she wanted to reassure the boy otherwise, and even tease him about his apparent over-concern, he wasn't necessarily wrong this time. Even though she would have Shinku, Fumiko, Hina-Ichigo, and perhaps even Kanaria by her side, she knew Kirakishou was—almost unarguably—their strongest sister and adversary.

"What are you doing sitting here all alone, huh?" a voice came from the doorway, snapping her out of her increasingly depressed thoughts. "The rest are all downstairs, y'know."

Yuki-Koori turned around, taking in the appearance of her newly-arrived sister. Kanaria had decided to show up after all.

"I just needed to think alone for a little bit," Yuki-Koori waved it off with a quick gesture. "Glad you decided to show up."

Kanaria frowned slightly. "I wasn't planning on it! Just…I was…er, forced!"

Yuki-Koori eyed her sister with a look of mock skepticism. "Oh, really? And who forced you to come all the way over here, huh?"

Kanaria shook her head. "Whatever. Anyway, Shinku wants you back downstairs now. She got her man-slave and his sister to make us some snacks."

As entertained as Yuki-Koori was by the idea of using her own medium as a servant, she still questioned her sister's morals a bit. However, she was _very _hungry, and it didn't bode well with her already sour mood at the moment. She head downstairs behind Kanaria, who seemed to be thinking heavily about something on her own. Knowing Kanaria, Yuki-Koori thought quietly, she was most likely questioning the ingredients Jun and Nori had put into the snacks, and whether or not her hunger would override her—arguably—misplaced suspicious. Once she reached the table downstairs, it was clear which way Kanaria would sway. In front of them was, quite possibly, the largest array of sweets Yuki-Koori had ever seen. Sitting down, she began nibbling on a few heart-shaped cookies that looked to be fresh out of the oven.

"Feeling better?" Fumiko asked, passing Yuki-Koori a small cup and the pot of tea. "You were gone for quite a while."

Yuki-Koori nodded shortly, pouring some of the tea into her cup, despite not liking the taste of the stuff very much. "I just needed to think for a little while. Did I miss anything important?"

"Not really," Shinku said, cringing slightly as Hina-Ichigo and Kanaria began to run about, both filled to the brim with sugar. "Honestly, those two…"

Fumiko smiled. "Better than seeing them upset, isn't it? Seeing Hina like that was so out of character that I couldn't help but be upset, too."

Shinku sighed. "I suppose you're right. And, we need to be leaving soon."

"Already?" Yuki-Koori whined, frowning. "You fill me with sweets and then expect me to hold them down while I'm talking to that…that pain…"

Shinku frowned back. "We have to make sure nothing goes wrong. And, where is that friend of yours, Yuki-Koori? I thought you would arrive with her in tow."

Fumiko looked surprised. "Where _is _Sekihi, Yuki-Koori? I haven't seen her since she dropped me off here earlier this morning."

"Like I would know," Yuki-Koori sighed. "She's probably off sulking somewhere. We can find her before we leave, I'm sure."

"Hina-Ichigo, Kanaria!" Shinku called out, her tone stern. "We need to leave now. Stop running around."

Hina-Ichigo stopped, trying to catch her breath. "Already, Shinku? Do we have to…?"

Shinku grabbed the pocket-watch out of her dress, checking the time. "Right now. Let's go."

Yuki-Koori sighed, standing up and brushing the crumbs off of her dress. Just as she prepared to follow Shinku into the room with the mirror, a hand desperately grabbed her own. Turning around in shock, she found that it was Fumiko, who almost seemed scared.

"What's wrong?" Yuki-Koori asked gently, squeezing her sister's hand. "Are you scared?"

"Of course I am," Fumiko sighed out. "This could be…be our last fight, you know? I haven't said many goodbyes yet. It's so sudden…"

"You can't think like that," Yuki-Koori warned her carefully. "It'll distract you from fighting well. Be confident, for once!"

"You're right," Fumiko said, taking a deep breath as she did. "I'm ready. Let's go."

Yuki-Koori smiled a little. "Can I ask you about something, Fumi?"

"What is it?" Fumiko asked, picking up her pace to catch up with Shinku and the others.

"Do you…really want to take us home as soon as the fight gets bad?" Yuki-Koori asked, her mind flipping back to the conversation that had occurred merely hours ago. "Like you promised Takumi?"

Fumiko bit her lip, knowing full well that what she had promised Takumi was not going to happen, no matter how bad things got. "No. Are you mad?"

Yuki-Koori shook her head slowly, laughing a little. "We're too strong to leave our sisters alone when the goin' gets tough!"

Though she said this with no hesitation, her mind still wandered. What was she going to do if she was unable to return home that night? Takumi would obviously begin to worry. But, her sisters needed her there. Though she didn't have a ton to offer by means of power, she was still one of the more agile of her sisters. She could protect them. They needed her. As she slowly begun to realize this, she knew Takumi would have to deal with her absence. While Takumi had a family to fall back on, she and her sisters only had each other. Though they had been promised a life with their father upon winning the Alice Game, it seemed their goals had shifted considerably in the past few hundred years. Yuki-Koori could not deny that she wanted to meet her father. He was, after all, the man who had given her life.

"_How could I love someone who won't even acknowledge me yet?" _she thought quietly, pressing her hand lightly against the mirror as her sisters and Jun ventured from the comfort of the Sakurada household into the N-Field. "_I can't."_

"Hello," the cheerful sounding voice of Sekihi rang behind them, scaring both Yuki-Koori and Fumiko out of their solemn thoughts. "Am I late?"

"Yes," Yuki-Koori grouched, yanking on the doll's undamaged arm and pulling her forward. "We were just about to leave! What were you doing that was so damn important, huh?"

"Sleeping," Sekihi said innocently, batting her eyelashes for added effect. "I'm not allowed to do that?"

"I know damn well you don't sleep!" Yuki-Koori hissed. "Quit being cute and hurry up!"

"Yes, your majesty," Sekihi huffed, still lagging behind slightly as she entered the N-Field. "Though I'm sure Kirakishou has something to do with this, what exactly are we doing?"

"You never told her?" Fumiko asked, chuckling a little. "I wonder what made her come over, then."

"The thought that Kirakishou is behind this," Sekihi answered dully. "Plus, I was lonely. Takumi scares me."

"You're scared of a ten-year old?" Yuki-Koori snickered. "What'd he do?"

Sekihi frowned. "He's upset that you're gone. For someone so small he certainly can put up a fuss."

Yuki-Koori sighed. She'd already felt bad enough for leaving Takumi behind, but she still knew it was for the best. If Kirakishou was truly involved with this, which was the most likely case, then she knew it was best for Takumi to stay at home for the night. Though she would have appreciated his company and words of encouragement now, Kirakishou's mal intentions overpowered her urge to keep the boy happy. That, and her sisters still needed them. Sekihi included, though she did not seem to be well-received by her other sisters at the moment. This didn't seem to bother Sekihi much, as she was now making exuberant, one-sided conversation with Hina-Ichigo. Yuki-Koori cringed a little, both out of sympathy for the frightened Hina-Ichigo and the closeness to Suigintou's N-field. It was only a matter of time now before they did come across either the black-clad doll or her white-clad fangirl, and though the two were quite outnumbered by this point, they were still strong adversaries, especially if Kirakishou had somehow convinced Suigintou to fight with her. That would have to come at quite the price, Yuki-Koori thought.

"I wonder if those two are working together," Kanaria mumbled, almost as if to echo Yuki-Koori's thoughts. "Then Kana really has to be on her toes, huh…"

Fumiko nodded. "We'll find out what strategies to employ once we get there. But, I must admit, I never expected that one day I'd be working with you all for the same thing. Rather, I'd assumed we'd always we'd always be _against _each other. I'm…relieved."

"Yes," Shinku agreed. "It is a little surprising. But I am relieved, as well. I prefer you lot as sisters…rather than adversaries."

Hina-Ichigo looked almost shocked. "Really, Shinku? You mean that?"

Shinku frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're the ice queen, y'know," Kanaria mumbled.

Before Shinku could respond, a flash white ran by Fumiko, sending a chill down her spin. Before she could speak about what had happened, the five dolls were wrapped from the waist down in rose vines.

Kirakishou had arrived.

"Oh, you did come!" Kirakishou cheered, clasping her hands in delight. "I'm so happy…I could hug you! I suppose I am, though, huh?"

"Kirakishou," Shinku growled, trying desperately to break out of the barrier of rose vines around her so that she could help her sisters do the same. "I knew you were behind this."

"Quite obvious, wasn't it?" Kirakishou frowned a little as she admitted this. "This plan wasn't my best work…or so I thought. It worked in a way I wouldn't have imagined before! You all ran to protect little Hina-Ichigo, didn't you? How very sweet of you. Even Sekihi came."

"You snake," Yuki-Koori hissed. "How could you?"

Kirakishou blinked a few times, tilting her head slightly to the right as she did. "Goodness, whatever has gotten into you all? You do realize that this completely fair of me, don't you? Don't tell me you've decided to give up on the Alice Game for each other!"

"That would be none of your concern," Shinku said firmly, finally able to release herself from the vines, causing Kirakishou to hiss in pain.

"Reiner…Rubin…" Kirakishou huffed out, trying desperately to ignore the excruciating pain in her fingertips. "I believe this is the first time we've met in person. Congratulations; I'm impressed. You are as strong as Sekihi said you are."

"It can't be helped," Shinku said simply. "I will not put up with these childish games, especially if they threaten a sister."

Kirakishou gasped in mock horror. "Shinku, the ice queen, protecting her sisters? This is something my crystals have never shown me before, I believe! How truly interesting to witness it in person…though uncharacteristic, if I do say so myself."

Sekihi gasped, finally burning her way through the vines, and grabbed her knife as quickly as she could manage to free the others. Kirakishou's breath hitched loudly as the searing pain brought on by her newly freed captives ran through her fingertips again. She knew it would be difficult to overpower the five of them combined, but this horrid pain being brought on by an inferior doll? Kirakishou almost felt ashamed, especially now that her dear older sister was nowhere to be found.

"So, what'll it… be, Kira?" Yuki-Koori asked, though the pain her abdomen was enough to bring her to her knees. "You certainly won't be getting to Hina-Ichigo with the four of us protecting her. So, what'll you do about it, huh?"

Kirakishou seemed unfazed, but genuinely confused. "Why are you going to these lengths to protect Klein Beere? You know she will die soon, don't you? I'm only going to put her body to good use."

The look of horror on Hina-Ichigo's face was nearly enough to reduce Yuki-Koori to tears. Shinku was now absolutely livid, dropping her ladylike demeanor almost entirely as she charged toward Kirakishou, aiming her small fist at her gut. Kirakishou grabbed Shinku's wrist, giggling at how much anger was displayed on the doll's face, before sending her hurling back toward the others as they desperately tried to catch her. Just as Yuki-Koori grabbed on to Shinku's hand, they were all violently assaulted with a volley of rose vines before being wrapped back up in them again. And impossibly tighter.

All, that is, except for Hina-Ichigo.

As her sisters struggled furiously, all calling out for Hina-Ichigo to run, Kirakishou simply laughed, making her way toward the frightened doll.

"S-Stop!" Hina-Ichigo yelled, trying to eliminate the fear in her voice, but with little success. "Stop hurting them, KiraKira! I'll…I'll fight you! Hina isn't a little baby anymore, so I'll fight too!"

Kirakishou seemed surprised for a moment, but quickly regained composure. "Then be my guest, darling! Why deny my dear sister the opportunity to prove herself before she dies?"

Hina-Ichigo charged toward the doll, throwing out a torrent of strawberry vines, which quickly encased the doll. "Hina will give you a taste of your own medicine then!"

"You get her, Hina-Ichigo!" Kanaria whooped, even momentarily stopping in her struggle to escape the vine barrier to cheer her sister on. "Don't let her escape!"

Hina-Ichigo nodded, eyes narrowing, as she focused on tightening the vines. Kirakishou definitely felt the pain it was bringing, but still kept the rose vines wrapped tightly around her sisters. If she were to let them fall now…there was no way she could succeed here. Kirakishou hissed, finally breaking out of the strawberry vines and falling back down to the ground. Hina-Ichigo had done quite the number on the doll, tearing into her clothes and leaving visible marks on her stomach.

Fumiko gulped, unable to bear looking anymore and instead desperately attempted to bring a gun out. This was going to be the end of Hina-Ichigo if they weren't able to break free soon; even Hina-Ichigo knew that. However, she did not have a knife, a sickle, or hot flames to cut through them. Her strawberry vines could not free her sisters.

Her eyes flashed with fear as Kirakishou reached her, grabbing her chin and pulling her close. Yuki-Koori screamed with frustration, using her last available strength to try and push out of the vines again. It was of no use though. Kirakishou had gotten what she wanted now. She had overpowered all five of them, reducing them to a pile of scared sisters, scarred from head to toe by thorny rose vines. And now, Hina-Ichigo was unable to be saved.

"I'm so sorry, Hina-Ichigo," Fumiko whispered, finally succumbing to the excruciating pain, stopping her struggle and attempts at reaching her guns.

"Oh, Hina-Ichigo," Kirakishou sighed in delight, gently rubbing her index finger against the doll's cheek. "I'm so sorry it had to come to this, I truly am. But, you were already dying, this whole time. Didn't you know? Blame that on the sister you love so much; blame it on Shinku. Your Rosa Mystica is rightfully hers, and she can have that, but I need your body."

Hina-Ichigo gulped, trying to make the fear disappear from her eyes. "Then…you can take it. Hina already proved herself to Shinku and the others. I don't blame Shinku for what she did, because Hina is finally worthy of being a Rozen Maiden. All thanks to Shinku; she helped Hina grow up."

"You are," Shinku gasped out weakly, allowing a few tears to escape her eyes. "Don't ever forget that Hina-Ichigo. You are the sixth doll of Rozen Maiden, Hina-Ichigo, and you are most definitely worthy of that title."

Hina-Ichigo smiled weakly. "Don't cry, everyone. Hina's happy she got to spend time with all of you, even though it wasn't for a long time. We'll see each other again soon, we will!"

Kirakishou smiled. "I agree, Hina-Ichigo, you were a formidable opponent. You proved us all wrong; you are not so much of a weak child now. Goodbye, sister."

With those words, Kirakishou bent down, placing a gentle kiss on Hina-Ichigo's shaking lips. Yuki-Koori's stomach churned in horror, her head jerking away from the scene in front of her. She had expected this fight to be a no-brainer. It was, after all, five against one. She had thought that with all of them trying to protect Hina-Ichigo, this fight was going to be easy, and quick. They would be the obvious victors, showing Kirakishou how much they loved the young Hina-Ichigo and the lengths they'd go to so she'd remain safe for the rest of her life. But, Kirakishou was right; a slow, painful death for Hina-Ichigo was her inevitable end. The only option the doll had been given was whether it would be sooner or later. Kirakishou had chosen the former; and she would even go as far to say it was almost out of love.

After all, she could have easily taken Sekihi again, used the material in her lifeless body to create her own, and left the N-Field weeks ago. But, when she had seen another opportunity, one that could put her sister out of commission in a slightly less painful fashion, she had taken it and used it to her advantage. She was nothing less than a saint in her own eyes, but she knew the others would most certainly not feel the same way. They were about to lose a sister they had cherished dearly, and they would not listen to her reason behind it after she had purposely tortured them, even going as far as to trying to eliminate Shinku first by cunningly setting up a fight between her and Suigintou.

Rose vines burst out of Hina-Ichigo's face, and she only barely held back a scream at the amount of pain it brought. Kirakishou's essence shone brightly, now filled with the power from the material in Hina-Ichigo's body. She let the rose vines disappear, allowing the four exhausted dolls to be relieved from the pain they were bringing them.

"You all are a pathetic bunch," Kirakishou said dully as she watched the four cry weakly over the loss of their sister. "Crying over someone who was going to die anyway. Did you really think you could stop the Alice Game so easily, you damn vigilantes? Give me a break!"

Shinku stood up weakly, finally recovering from the pain, and noticed the watch hanging over her dress. As she noticed the time, she could not hold back the horrified shriek that escaped her mouth.

It was twelve thirty-two A.M.

Thirty-two minutes after they had left.

"Oh!" Kirakishou gasped, giggling a little. "That long already? I suppose we're all trapped here now, aren't we? How unfortunate…"

"You knew!" Kanaria growled. "You knew, and now we can't leave? We're stuck, I think!"

Hina-Ichigo's Rosa Mystica shone brightly above them, distractingly them all from the newly arisen problem.

"Ah," Kirakishou sighed, her voice almost calm. "Her Rosa Mystica…how I wish it were mine to take. See, sisters? I always do play fairly!"

It flew over to Shinku, entering her chest and filling her body with an amount of power she could not have imagined would come from Hina-Ichigo's Rosa Mystica. The overwhelming nature of it all sent Shinku to her knees, crying out as Hina-Ichigo's entire life flashed in her mind at a hundred miles an hour.

Being woken up for the first time, living in France with Corrine Fosset, and then in Japan with Tomoe. All the fights she had ever had, her loneliness, her happiness, the sweet taste of Ichigo Daifuku, and finally her painful death. Yuki-Koori wrapped her arms around Shinku's shoulders as she shook, her eyes never leaving Kirakishou. She did, after all, have a physical body now. What was she waiting for? She could kill them all right now. However, she considered the time now as a blessing.

"Hyoukai?" Yuki-Koori whispered, calling her artificial spirit over to her. The white orb shone gently beside her as it arrived, offering a small apology for Hina-Ichigo's death.

Yuki-Koori shook her head. "Just listen. Please, tell Takumi about what's happened. We've spent too much time here, and we can't leave for a while. Well, Fumiko could, but… tell him…tell him I'm sorry, okay? Can you?"

"_I may be able to leave for a little while, mistress," _the spirit offered meekly. _"I'll try and tell him."_

"Thank you," Yuki-Koori sighed out, watching the white orb disappear as it tried to get to the Moriya household. "Shinku, are you alright?"

"Yes," Shinku answered as calmly as she could manage. "Well, Kirakishou, what do you intend to do with us now? You're still trapped here, as well, you know."

"Indeed," Kirakishou giggled. "Just like always. I suppose it wouldn't be a good idea to finish the Alice Game until the gardener twins find us here, if they do. But, not to worry, that should be soon enough! They are, after all, searching for some of you now. My crystals said so."

"Micchan…" Kanaria whispered sadly, thinking about her medium. Mitsu was most definitely home from work now, and wondering where Kanaria was.

"How cute, how you care for your human mediums," Kirakishou grinned, a memory suddenly entering her mind. "This reminds me of something! Oh, at the perfect time, too! Yuki-Koori…and Fumiko? I have something to show you!"

Yuki-Koori glared up at the doll, unable to resist the curiosity of asking. "What do you want now, Kirakishou?"

"I'd like you to meet someone," Kirakishou said, shaking her head afterwards. "No, rather, I'd like you to visit an old friend of yours. I'm sure you miss our dear Anja Ludenberg very much, don't you?

Fumiko's breath caught in her throat. Anja had to have been dead by now, didn't she? That era of the Alice Game had ended when she was fourteen years old, which had been centuries ago! She couldn't still be alive!

"You're lying!" Fumiko snapped harshly. "Anja has been dead…for a long time now!"

Kirakishou shook her head. "That's my surprise to you, my dear. After that era of the Alice Game, I was able to trap darling, fourteen year old Anja in the N-Field. She's been sleeping away in the old mansion ever since! I couldn't let father's last living relative die, could I!?"

Yuki-Koori gazed at Fumiko. "Anja is still alive, Fumiko. Damn it, I don't want to be this happy right now!"

Fumiko closed her eyes, holding her head. "Neither do I. Please, Kirakishou, if this is a lie…"

Kirakishou shook her head. "I have never told a lie. Nor, here, have I stretched the truth. Anja Ludenberg rests in the old mansion, maintaining the appearance of a fourteen year old. That's not all, either! I've done the same many times! Hina-Ichigo's old medium, Corrine? I have her granddaughter's conscious, too! Oh, Jun, Micchan, and even Takana would add nicely, too!"

"No," Shinku snapped loudly. "If you are serious about this, Kirakishou, take us to see Anja and Corrine's granddaughter. We'll deal with each other and the Alice Game after that."

"Yes, I suppose that sounds fair," Kirakishou giggled. "I can't wait to see their faces when I wake them up…"

Yuki-Koori closed her eyes, letting out a shaky sigh. "Anja, I'm coming."

* * *

**Woo…part one complete. I decided to do this chapter in a couple of parts instead of having a 10,000 word long chapter. It seems more convenient to me. I'm sorry if there are noticeable grammar mistakes, as I (suffering from writer's block) kind of half-assed this part. Hopefully it's still good, though! I'm sorry for the long update (again).**

**I decided it was about time (this story is probably only going to have 13-15 chapters) to kill someone off. Hina-Ichigo was the most likely candidate to go from the beginning, though I did have some trouble deciding whether it'd be her first or Sekihi. Ah…I'm a little rusty on my Rozen Maiden information (shock. Manga especially, since I had to skip around some parts in volumes 5, 7, and 8.) so I'm not sure about them being trapped in the N-Field after 30 minutes w/o a medium, but I think I'm correct. **

**Anyway, Part 2 coming next week, hopefully!**

**-Patchy**


	10. Chapter 9 - PART 2 (Anja Ludenberg)

The sweet aroma of roses filled the air, causing Sekihi to cough.

She wasn't fond of the smell. She never had been. Whether that was because of her abandonment by Rozen, or simply because she did not like such sweet smells, she did not know anymore. However, what she did know now was that Kirakishou was about to manipulate Yuki-Koori and Fumiko in some way. She had claimed to have trapped Anja Ludenberg, Rozen's last living relative, in the old Rose Mansion. While Sekihi did not doubt Kirakishou was capable of doing so, she knew Kirakishou was going to use this to her advantage. To eliminate Yuki-Koori and Fumiko from the Alice Game, perhaps? Sekihi had mulled over the possibility briefly. In her mind, she had pictured Kirakishou offering Anja's safety in exchange for their Rosa Mysticas. She grit her teeth loudly, irritated with herself. It seemed so B-Movie esque, but was it still a possibility? She glanced over at Shinku, who kept a steady pace beside Kirakishou in case she decided to pull a violent stunt at the last minute. Then, she looked back at Kanaria, who attempted to appear brave in the presence of her sisters. However, it was painfully obvious she was worried about her medium, and her own safety.

She couldn't blame her.

Though Sekihi had been alive for a near millennia by this point, the thought of suddenly losing all that she had now scared her to no end.

"Oi, Kira?" Sekihi called out irritably, gathering the attention of the maiden in question. "Where on earth are you taking us? The mansion was the other way, ya know."

Kirakishou stopped walking to look back at Sekihi, her expression gleeful. "I'm not keeping them in the family mansion. That would be awfully rude. But, I thought it would be fair—as the seventh daughter—to have a little piece of the area for myself. So, I keep them there!"

Sekihi sighed. "I don't care. Your morals are still skewed beyond belief."

Kirakishou's eye narrowed considerably. Sekihi had been giving her this kind of trouble since she had met her for the first time. As much as she hated to believe Laplace was correct, she did bear some resemblance to the rest of them. But, she would never consider her a sister. And now, she would be the next target to eliminate. As soon as Yuki-Koori and Fumiko were successfully removed from the board, Sekihi would be hers. Then, she would be unstoppable. She grinned at the thought, pleased with the returning of her skills as a strategist. She also rubbed her arms a little; unable to help admiring how well the material in Hina-Ichigo's body had made a physical body for her. It was almost as if it was meant to be.

Yuki-Koori stopped as they approached the small, elegant looking building Kirakishou had been talking about, taking a deep breath. Anja was in here. The Anja she missed so dearly. The Anja she had left behind in tears when the Alice Game had ended for that era. Would she hold a grudge against her for that? Her thoughts were stopped suddenly as Fumiko put a reassuring hand around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"It'll be alright," Fumiko whispered gently. Then, she spoke towards Kirakishou. "Kirakishou, is this it?"

Kirakishou nodded. "This is where I've been keeping Anja and Odille! Come, sisters, let's go look."

"Stop it, you!"

Kirakishou jerked around violently, as did the others. This was a voice they recognized, certainly, but a voice that they had not heard in such a long time.

Suiseiseki stood in front of the house, Souseiseki close behind her.

Yuki-Koori's eyes widened. While the irrational part of her wanted to run up to them, burying her face into their shoulders and sobbing about how much she had missed them, the slightly rational part of her wanted to keep her guard up. She decided the latter would be the proper reaction; at least until she found out what they were doing there.

"Suiseiseki?" Shinku whispered, almost awestruck. "And Souseiseki? How did you find us here?"

"We were able to follow Lempicka here. It had seen…Hina-Ichigo's trouble." Souseiseki spoke up, trailing off towards the end. She and Suiseiseki had not been able to see Hina-Ichigo again this era, but that did not stop Lempicka from showing them her brutal end. Caused by another sister, one that they had never met.

"Anyway, we're here to stop you, you crazy sister!" Suiseiseki announced, pointing an accusing finger at Kirakishou, who jerked back defensively. "I never did like the puny Ichigo much…but you didn't have to do such a horrible thing!"

Kirakishou folded her arms across her chest in a poor imitation of her dear Suigintou, appearing in front of Suiseiseki. "What kind of ending were you expecting the girl to have? Her death was inevitable; I simply caused it occur quicker. I love my big sister Hina-Ichigo, but I love our father more! Can you not identify with this feeling?"

"No, I can't," Yuki-Koori spoke up angrily, pressing her hands into Kirakishou's shoulders until small icicles began forming around her arms. "How _dare _you try and justify killing Hina-Ichigo! She could have had a death so much less violent than the one you gave her!"

Kirakishou hissed at the stinging pain the cold brought, shoving Yuki-Koori off of her as hard as could. Fumiko ran forward, grabbing her under the arms and saving her from the hard ground below.

"Stop," Fumiko hissed anxiously. "Don't provoke her."

"Perhaps you should listen to your little sister, Yuki-Koori," Kirakishou growled as the ice began melting off of her arms. "You're too feisty for your own good."

"What, exactly, are we interrupting here?" Souseiseki asked, taking a slightly defensive stance in front of Suiseiseki. "What were you going to show them, Kirakishou?"

Kirakishou smiled brightly, causing her sisters to feel dizzy from the sudden change in mood. "I was simply going to show you lot, Yuki and Fumiko especially, who I had trapped in here. Father's dear youngest niece, Anja! Oh, she was such a sweet girl, wasn't she? I feel like such a saint, really."

Souseiseki's eyes widened slightly. "How were you able to trap father's niece in here? She…she was born centuries ago. She should be dead by now."

"She's crazy," Kanaria muttered sourly, still looking around the area for any way out. "That's how."

"Something like that," Kirakishou giggled, almost as if she accepted such a brush insult as a compliment. "I've had her trapped in here for a while. The young Odille Fosset, as well."

"You might as well show us now, Kirakishou," Shinku sighed out. "We still have to deal with you. And the Alice Game."

Kirakishou nodded enthusiastically, running into the building. Her sisters followed behind her hesitantly, still afraid of what she could do.

It was a homey place, almost comfortable. Kirakishou seemed to have decorated it to her liking, with white roses and even a few red and pink where she could find room. Sekihi coughed loudly at the smell, alerting Suiseiseki, who now realized she did not recognize her.

"Eh?" Suiseiseki muttered shyly, moving behind her twin. "Who's this one?"

Sekihi glanced up at her curiously. "Oh, yes, we haven't been properly introduced, twins. I'm Sekihi."

"She is our sister…technically speaking," Shinku finished. "Please treat her kindly, I suppose."

Sekihi smiled brightly, pleased that Shinku had finally introduced her as a sister, even though she was not a Rozen Maiden. She grabbed Suiseiseki's hand, shaking it briefly before hurrying to catch up with Kirakishou and the others.

"She seems different," Souseiseki mused quietly once the others were out of sight. "And what did Shinku mean by… 'technically'? What do you think, sister?"

"She seems annoying," Suiseiseki muttered, pouting. "Let's go catch up with the others, yes?"

Souseiseki nodded shortly, following the straggling Kanaria into the room Kirakishou was leading them into. It was a small room, undecorated and—unlike previous rooms—lacking the signature rose smell. There, almost as if the girl was on display, was a young, sleeping Anja Ludenberg. Yuki-Koori's eyes widened as she approached her, Fumiko close behind.

Kirakishou gave the two a look that was almost sympathetic. "Whenever you are ready, I can wake her. How surprised she will be…I do hope she can resist flying into a panic attack."

Yuki-Koori's face scrunched up slightly. "Fumiko…I don't know if we can put her through this. The last time we saw her…it was such a long time ago. We're in the twenty-first century now, ya know…"

Fumiko nodded. "Yes, dear, but we can't leave her asleep forever. She is still alive."

"Though it isn't really my decision to make," Shinku started. "I suggest you wake her now. She can't stay asleep forever."

Yuki-Koori nodded towards Kirakishou. "Alright, then, Kirakishou. Wake her up."

Kirakishou nodded back, smiling. She placed a gentle kiss on Anja's lips, disturbing the group slightly, and reminding some of them of Hina-Ichigo's violent death merely hours ago. Yuki-Koori watched warily as her eyes opened and looked around dazedly until they caught sight of her dolls. Yuki-Koori shrieked at how quickly Anja recovered, jumping out of her resting area and scooping them up in her arms.

"Ah!" Anja wheezed slightly. "My dolls…I thought you'd left! And then the crazy one… how long have I been sleeping!?"

"A-Anja…" Fumiko choked out. "You've…you've been asleep for a while, okay? A really long while…and we don't have much time to discuss it. Is that alright?"

"Of course," Anja piped up, regaining some of her vocal strength. "I'm just glad my dolls are back now!"

"But, for how long?" Kirakishou giggled quietly. "Don't you remember the Alice Game, dear Anja? Do you expect either of them is strong enough to win? It's certainly a possibility."

Anja glared up at Kirakishou. "They don't have to fight. I don't care about what rules Uncle Rozen set. It's too cruel!"

Yuki-Koori grinned from where she was tucked into Anja's chest. She still had her…_spark._ It was something she had always liked about her former medium. Still, just what was she going to think when she found out her entire family was dead, and she was hundreds of years in the 'future' now?

Yuki-Koori felt another pang of guilt upon realizing that the girl probably wouldn't be able to leave the N-Field by easy means, either. Much like them.

"Kirakishou," Souseiseki spoke up cautiously. "What do you want with our sisters, anyway?"

Kirakishou blinked, cocking her head slightly. "I want almost exactly what you want; to get rid of them. I _do _intend to become Alice, after all."

"Will you tear your precious Suigintou down, too?" Yuki-Koori grouched, obviously uncomfortable with Kirakishou talking about 'getting rid' of them. "You have to defeat her if you want to become Alice."

Kirakishou looked at a loss for words now. Yuki-Koori turned away, stepping out of Anja's lap and folding her arms across her chest.

"So much for being a strategist," Kanaria huffed. "KiraKira forgot to consider defeating Suigintou, too."

"Shut up," Kirakishou hissed. "I'll…I'll tear her down, too!"

"Oh, will you?" Shinku asked, joining in despite her better judgment skills crying in protest. "You do seem to admire her greatly. Is it truly worth it, Kirakishou?"

"O-Of course!" Kirakishou shrieked, grabbing her hair in frustration. "I'll…I'll get to meet Father…and…and I…"

"Perhaps you should reconsider your motives as well, Kirakishou," Anja spoke up quietly, her voice still terribly hoarse. "You seem unclear on how much pleasing Rozen means to you."

"I know exactly what I want!" Kirakishou barked, slamming her hand against the wall with enough force to blow part of it away. "What about you, younger gardener? Would you tear your precious Suiseiseki down to see father again? Do tell us all!"

Souseiseki flinched. Suiseiseki glanced over at her desperately, her eyes screaming for her to say no. That she meant more to her than their father. Even so, she knew what Souseiseki truly felt.

"That…is none of your business, Kirakishou," Souseiseki whispered, looking down at the floor.

"Oh?" Kirakishou smiled, appearing in front of the distraught doll. "It seems like I, too, hit a nerve. Poor, poor darling."

"Stop!" Fumiko snapped, grabbing Kirakishou by the shoulder. "All of you, cut it out! The majority of us _are_ trapped in here. We need to leave_._ We can't continue the Alice Game until we've been back to the real world. Kirakishou, don't you need a medium? Why would you trap us here and begin the Alice Game? You were, after all, the one who was entirely against such unfair advantages."

Kirakishou jerked out of Fumiko's grip. "A human medium…Suigintou never needed one…I don't either!"

"She may not have needed one," Yuki-Koori sighed out. "But she has one. Didn't you know?"

Kirakishou looked surprised for a moment, but the look quickly returned to a sinister smile. "So…big sister has a medium, huh? I'd like to meet her."

"Then _help us get out of here_!" Yuki-Koori hissed, instantly feeling a bit of remorse. Now Suigintou would have to deal with Kirakishou's wrath, perhaps specifically aimed at her medium simply for existing. She truly was an insane doll.

"Fine," Kirakishou huffed, turning on her heel. "You can leave, but I won't help you. Figure it out yourselves, if you can."

With that, Kirakishou was gone, leaving no trace of her arrival.

Suiseiseki grabbed at the air where Kirakishou had been, her fists balled in anger. "Why, that little…!"

"Don't worry," Souseiseki said, her voice strangely distant. "We still have Lempicka and Sui-Dream. We'll create an entrance to the real world, and hope that works. We may still have time."

"Sounds like a real shot in the dark, y'know," Kanaria sighed out. "But anything's better than staying here…all the white roses give Kana the creeps…"

"Do you ever stop talking, Kanamiso?" Suiseiseki snapped, calling for Sui-Dream before 'Kanamiso' could protest against her verbal assault. "Sui-Dream? We need your help…"

"Wait," Shinku interrupted abruptly, holding her hand up to silence the worried chattering. "Anja was not the only one Kirakishou had trapped here."

"Oh, that's right," Fumiko murmured, almost embarrassed she had nearly forgotten. "She also trapped Hina-Ichigo's former medium's…granddaughter, was it? Where is she?"

Sekihi pointed towards a secluded area of the room, one that they would not have noticed otherwise. "There. But we cannot wake her. Nor do I wish to try, after seeing the preferred method…"

Shinku made a face. "I suppose we'd be unable to anyway. We shouldn't have sent Kirakishou away so quickly…"

"There's nothing we can do now," Souseiseki reminded them, gesturing towards the small, thin portal she and Suiseiseki had managed to make, hoping the excess power used wouldn't cause Mizuki any trouble at home. "We have to leave while we can, if this works."

Yuki-Koori sighed a little, holding her arms out for Anja to lift her. Once she had been carefully placed against her side, she spoke. "I guess it's for the best, anyway. Hina-Ichigo had told me a little while ago that Corrine visited her in a dream. Odille was coming to return Hina-Ichigo to France. But…she's…"

"Yes," Fumiko took over the conversation quickly, feeling the pain of Hina-Ichigo's absence returning. "We'll…we'll try and wake her up again when we get Hina-Ichigo back."

Shinku nodded, though she knew such a thing was impossible at the moment. However, false hope was the only kind of hope plausible to have at the moment.

"Maybe this era really is the last," Fumiko murmured to herself as Anja stepped through the portal. "Like Kirakishou said."

It wasn't the first time she had predicted something correctly, after all. Her crystals would have told her so.

* * *

"I'm exhausted," Yuki-Koori muttered quietly, her joints creaking in protest as she attempted to lift herself up from where she had landed in the living room of the Moriya household. "I can't move much, can you?"

"Not much," Fumiko agreed, sighing a little. "And, everyone is asleep right now. I suppose we can lay here for a bit."

Yuki-Koori nodded a little. "What to do with Anja, though? She nearly had a panic attack when we came across those cars. And…I can't really explain her to Takana and Takumi."

Anja had fallen asleep moments ago, complaining her head hurting. Yuki-Koori did not blame her. Fumiko had politely offered to move her over the couch, only to realize to her embarrassment that a six year old Anja had weighed a bit less than a fourteen year old one.

"I wonder if she'll be alright," Fumiko said quietly, brushing a stray hair out of Anja's face. "And you, too…I can't stay here forever. I don't have a medium here anymore."

Yuki-Koori tried desperately to keep the disappointment off of her face before she answered. "It's alright. I imagine neither of us will be in the comfort of our homes for long, ya know?"

Fumiko closed her eyes, letting out a long yawn as she did. "That is true. What are we going to do about Kirakishou now? She ran off to 'meet' Suigintou's medium…"

"Suigintou can handle her," Yuki-Koori muttered sourly, still angered by the fact that she had run off when they needed her help; though truthfully she hadn't expected her help in the first place. "She can take on _anyone,_ remember?"

"Yuki…" Fumiko chastised her sister gently, though she did agree with her for the most part. "Don't say that. If it were Takumi or Takana she were after, you'd want someone to help."

"But she's _Suigintou_!" Yuki-Koori protested feebly. "She wouldn't want our help even if we offered it!"

"You're probably right," Fumiko sighed softly. "I just want to be of help to _someone _sometimes. I have always been a weak link amongst you all. Despite my power having so much potential…I was never able to wield it properly. I could not even bring myself to support you all when you needed it in the past. Calling myself a Rozen Maiden would be a lie, wouldn't it?"

Fumiko gasped slightly as she finished, shocked at how much she'd revealed to her sister. She had always been open with Yuki-Koori, but these thoughts by themselves she had kept a secret for nearly her entire life.

Yuki-Koori froze, surprised by the outburst, but attempted to recover quickly. "That's not true. You aren't a weak link because…you can't be. We Rozen Maidens are our own little links by themselves. We're not a full chain. And you've done pretty damn well for yourself, as a Rozen Maiden. You were really brave earlier! And you saved my ass when I was being stupid!"

"It was instinctive," Fumiko murmured, hiding her flushed cheeks despite the darkness doing most of the work for her. "But you really shouldn't provoke her like that!"

"I'm sorry," Yuki-Koori sighed out. "But, she really did make me mad."

"I understand," Fumiko lied quickly, glancing up at the grandfather clock rested against the wall. "I should probably be returning home soon. Might you have any ideas on what to do about Anja?"

Yuki-Koori squinted for a moment. "We can't keep her here, that's for sure. Can you keep her over there? Jun and Nori's parents are certainly never around…"

Fumiko thought for a moment. "I suppose that is one option. Do you think she's figured it out by now?"

"When she knew how long she'd been asleep…she figured it out," Yuki-Koori murmured, feeling terribly sorry for the girl. Though having her here again was a dream come true, Anja now had no parents, no family, or friends. She was alone in the world now.

"She's so strong," Fumiko sighed, her voice leaking with admiration. "I suppose I should wake her now."

She pat Anja's face gently, despite being unfamiliar with how to wake a human without disturbing them much. Once her eyes were open and she had sat up, Fumiko tried to smile reassuringly.

"Will you come with me, Anja?" Fumiko asked, helping the girl to her feet. "You can't stay here for much longer. It would be…difficult to explain your appearance."

Anja nodded sleepily. "Yes, of course. Goodnight, Yuki."

"Goodnight, Anja," Yuki-Koori said quietly, the majority of her attention focused towards the vanity mirror on the wall behind her. "Be careful."

Anja gave the doll an affectionate rub on the head before following Fumiko into the dark night.

Yuki-Koori sat still for a few moments, unsure what to think now that she was alone. The days ahead were going to be long ones. With the death of Hina-Ichigo, the Alice Game had been officially set in motion. There was no stopping it anymore. If that was the case, how would she prepare for it? Yuki-Koori did not know where things would go from here.

She glanced into the upstairs hallway, wondering if Takumi were asleep. She would have to apologize profusely when he woke up, that was for sure. Though she was still unsure why the boy had grown so fond of her, she was almost grateful he had. Almost, because this era was the last era of the Alice Game. Quite nearly the worst time to make friends.

And it bothered her to no end.

Behind her, the vanity mirror began to glow. She jumped back in surprise, balling her fists tightly together in preparation for what would come through. Once the glowing ceased, Yuki-Koori still could not bring herself to open her eyes. Who had decided to come and visit her at this hour?

"I didn't mean to scare you! Open your eyes."

"Sekihi! Damn you straight to doll hell!"

Sekihi smiled a little, giving her a comforting pat on the arm. "Sorry. I had to do some things before I came home. I didn't think I'd be so long."

Yuki-Koori sighed, defeated, and slumped back down to the floor in front of the mirror. "Whatever, I guess."

"What's wrong?" Sekihi asked, sitting down beside the doll. "Wait. I suppose that would be a stupid question. I apologize."

Yuki-Koori sighed a little. "The reality is just finally setting in, I guess. Now that Hina's gone, the Alice Game really has begun. What am I going to tell Takumi? What am I going to do about Anja? How could I ever _fight them_? They're my sisters!"

Sekihi looked up at the doll sympathetically. "You don't have to tell Takumi anything. He's a smart boy; he knows. Anja will be fine. I'm sure our sisters would all die to protect someone close to Ro…father. Worry about things once they come along. You can handle it."

Yuki-Koori blinked rapidly, openly surprised that her sister had that kind of advice to give her. "What about you, Sekihi? Why did your personality change so fast? You hated us a little while ago."

Sekihi placed her finger under her chin thoughtfully and exposed her sharp incisors as she smiled. "I guess you could say that, once you allowed me to live here, you brought out…an old me. I know you talked to Mariposa. She told you, didn't she? I wasn't always that way."

Yuki-Koori nodded. "She said you were naïve… I couldn't really see it in ya."

"Yes," Sekihi murmured, placing her head between her knees, which were pulled up to her stomach. "For a little while, I believed that if I were a good enough doll I could return to father someday. He went back and forward in time so much that I never did know much about him. Anja is a key piece in our questions about Rozen; did you know that?"

Yuki-Koori nodded again. "I never felt like pressuring her much for information about our father when she was my medium. She didn't seem to know him very well, either. Once, she told me she wasn't entirely sure they were related at all."

"That would be something," Sekihi murmured. "It also presents the question of why our father made you and Fumiko for Anja in the first place. I feel like it was something beyond a birthday gift, don't you?"

Before Yuki-Koori could answer, she was scooped up by a very elated Takumi, who seemed to have just woken up. Glancing frantically at the clock, she realized it was a little after six.

"I didn't think you were ever coming home!" Takumi announced, his tone relieved. "How did you get back here? What happened? I missed you!"

"I-I know," Yuki-Koori choked out, caught in Takumi's death grip. Sekihi covered her mouth, snickering quietly as she watched the ordeal.

"Aren't you two awfully close?" Sekihi teased lightly. "Forbidden love, how truly appealing to witness firsthand."

"You're this close, Sekihi," Yuki-Koori growled, her cheeks stained red with embarrassment. "This close to getting your little head knocked clean off!"

Takumi set Yuki-Koori down, now thoroughly embarrassed by Sekihi's comments, and decided instead to sit down next to them before she began talking.

"Why don't you do the honors, loudmouth?" Yuki-Koori grouched, looking away from the two of them in a feeble attempt at hiding her embarrassment.

"Calm down, Yuki-Koori," Sekihi snickered, though her expression returned serious shortly after. "It's a long story Takumi. I don't think Yuki-Koori would want to share it whether I had irritated her or not. We've been awake for an awfully long time now. May we sleep?"

Takumi nodded. "I'm glad you guys made it home safely. I think your cases are in Takana's room."

Sekihi glanced at Yuki-Koori, wondering why she hadn't already got up and walked away, and noticed her eyes were shut tight.

"Asleep already," Sekihi murmured, watching her expression gradually settle into a more peaceful one. "Be kind to her, won't you Takumi? We…we lost a sister last night."

* * *

Shinku hadn't slept a wink that night.

Hina-Ichigo's untimely death had, obviously, taken its toll on her. No matter how much she had told herself this was her fate, once it had actually occurred, it had hurt. Especially because Kirakishou had made it so painful for her in her last moments.

She clenched her fists in anger.

"That was _not _out of love," she hissed to herself, cringing at how monstrous it sounded. "She…she couldn't have loved Hina-Ichigo."

"Are you alright, Shinku?" Fumiko asked, rolling over from where she had been laying on Jun's couch. "You've been talking to yourself like that for a few minutes now."

Shinku jumped before blushing profusely. She had almost forgotten about her new housemate. Her, now, _only _housemate.

"I was talking to _you,_" she lied quickly, feigning irritation. "Next time, listen. I do not enjoy repeating myself."

"My guns are _awfully _loud. I suppose I've lost a bit of my hearing," Fumiko joked, sitting up and walking over to Shinku, taking a seat beside her at the dining room table. "Are you thinking about Hina-Ichigo?"

"Of course I am," Shinku sighed loudly. "Aren't you?"

Fumiko blinked, trying to remember what she'd been thinking about. "I don't know what I've been thinking of. But I have tried to keep my thoughts away from Hina. It's…it's over now. She's not here anymore."

"Yes, I know," Shinku responded curtly. "However, the death Kirakishou gave her is my real problem with the situation. I wanted her die _peacefully._"

"I understand," Fumiko said quietly, shaking her head rapidly as images of Hina-Ichigo's cracking face flashed through her mind. "But now she's off to…introduce herself to Suigintou's medium. We have to take care of her soon, you know."

"Why is that?" Shinku asked, remembering the story Yuki-Koori had told her a few days prior. Suigintou had abandoned them when they needed her to help fight off Kirakishou. Why would Fumiko want to help her? "She abandoned you, did she not?"

"She did," Fumiko said carefully, still a little unsure of her own reasoning behind wanting to help out. "But we can't let another innocent girl be trapped in that mansion. That is, I assume, what she intends to do with Megu when she gets her hands on her."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Shinku murmured, surprised she had not thought of that herself. "We'll leave tomorrow morning, then. Perhaps we should get some rest."

Fumiko nodded, though she was hardly able to feel her eyelids anymore. "Goodnight, then. You'll be alright?"

"I must be alright," Shinku said matter-of-factly, though her voice held a tinge of sadness. "For everyone. I cannot let them down, too."

"You didn't let anyone down, Shinku," Fumiko said, placing a comforting hand on the distraught doll's shoulder. Though normally she would have offered a more affectionate form of comfort, she knew it probably wasn't the ideal time for it. "And you won't start now. We'll find Kirakishou and settle this once and for all."

Shinku nodded, regaining some of her strength. "We will."

Tomorrow would be a very long day.

**A/N **

**Remember when I said I'd have this out 'next week', um, about a month ago?**

**That…that was my evil twin! Don't kill me! **


	11. Chapter 10 (Confrontation)

It was midafternoon before Fumiko awoke again.

Memories from the night before quickly began flooding her brain the minute she could open her eyes, causing her to groan. Hina-Ichigo's death had brought upon many nightmares, but none could hold to a candle to the way her brain remembered the events firsthand. The way Kirakishou had killed her, so gruesomely, was certainly fuel for a good nightmare. After a few minutes of this torture, her thoughts were interrupted by muffled voices coming from, she assumed, downstairs. Opening her case and shielding her eyes from the sunlight, she eventually decided to come downstairs and see what the commotion was about.

"Shinku!" the voice of Jun rose dramatically as Fumiko neared the living room. "Those rotten dolls were one thing, but you can't let a human girl live here!"

Fumiko cringed. Though Shinku had wholeheartedly agreed to let Anja stay in the Sakurada household, she had almost forgotten that they had not received permission from either Jun or Nori.

"Any relative of Father's will live wherever she pleases," Shinku retorted, turning up the volume on the TV in a meager attempt at drowning out her concerned medium. "And she wants to live with her former doll."

"I'm sorry, Jun," Fumiko butt in before Jun could respond again, waving her hands emphatically. "I should have asked your permission before bringing Anja here, but she had nowhere else to go…"

Anja frowned from where she sat on the couch beside Shinku. "For shame, Sakurada Jun. Do your parents always let you behave this rowdily?"

Jun turned bright red where he stood, balling his fists as tightly as he could. "My parents couldn't care less about what I'm doing, so just shut up, you!"

The two dolls eyed the exchange nervously, unsure of whom was more to blame for the argument. But, before anyone could be put to blame, Anja stood up from where she sat, thoroughly embarrassed, and excused herself to her room before Fumiko could stop her. Jun turned around shortly after, retreating to his own room and slamming the door so loudly that the entire house shook.

"I suppose I should have tried to stop that at some point," Fumiko murmured, eyeing the upstairs hallway sadly. "I'm sorry, Shinku."

"It can't be helped," Shinku sighed out, standing up and turning the television off. "They'll work things out, I'm sure. After all, we do have to be leaving now. They'll be on their own for quite a while."

Fumiko frowned. "Are you sure they'll be alright here by themselves? They looked ready to choke each other moments ago."

"We don't have time to worry about that right now, Fumiko," Shinku reminded her. "If we do intend on saving Suigintou's medium from Kirakishou's wrath…well, truthfully, we've probably already run out of time."

Fumiko bit her bottom lip slightly, frustration rolling off of her in waves. "Still, we need to settle things with Kirakishou before she kills another sister like that."

"And that is our plan," Shinku confirmed, eyeing the room with the mirror warily. "Usually, we have a very limited amount of time. But, I believe you are the one who saved us from being trapped there last night."

"E-Eh?" Fumiko wondered what Shinku could have meant, as she directly recalled Lempicka and Sui-Dream opening the portal to the real world. "But didn't the twins' artificial spirits…"

"Yes," Shinku agreed, reluctantly turning away from the mirror and facing Fumiko. "But, it was far past time for us to be able to return home safely, even with the gardeners' entrance to the real world. That power of yours…I'd like you to stick close. I think we could truly stop Kirakishou this way."

Fumiko nodded. "In that case, we'd probably better get going. I assume her 'crystals' have already informed her we are seeking her out."

Inside, Fumiko was happy. Shinku truly did need her help. Though she did not offer a great deal by means of her combative power, the power Rozen had given her to help tend to her massive library could now serve a greater purpose.

"_Was that what you intended, Father?" _Fumiko thought, hoping her question would somehow reach him. _"I'll really help my sisters this time, Father. You just watch me."_

"Fumiko? Don't stand there; we need to leave now."

"Coming, Shinku!"

Though surprised at her sudden enthusiasm, Shinku could not resist cracking a small smile.

* * *

Embarrassment was a strange feeling.

First, Anja had realized what she said might not have been the smartest to say. Then, the embarrassment itself had settled in. The hotness, inability to think clearly, the sadness. In merely seconds, it had consumed her entirely and forced her to retreat to her own room and away from the concerned eyes of the dolls.

And the angry eyes of Jun.

Sakurada Jun was a very odd boy. Anja had noted this straightaway during their first meeting only hours ago. Though she was beginning to get used to the less conservative style of dress most of the people she'd come in contact with had adopted, the others had been different. They were kinder. Jun, on the other hand, did not appear to have a kind bone in his body. Whatever had happened to chivalry?

"Although," Anja murmured to herself, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Mother always told me not to judge someone that quickly. Perhaps…perhaps an apology would do us well."

After carefully venturing across the hallway and standing outside of the boy's (now considerably damaged) door, she found herself losing bravery quickly. However, she was partially at fault for his anger, and it didn't bode well with her naturally guilty conscience. Swallowing her fears, she slowly knocked at the undamaged parts of his door.

"S-Sakurada…?" she called out weakly, bracing her ears for more screaming. "Can we talk..?"

There was no verbal answer, but Anja could distinctly hear someone shuffling under bed covers. Sighing, she continued.

"It wouldn't be particularly fair of me to say that I understand," Anja began, her voice gaining back some power. "Because, quite honestly, no one's situation is the same. However, could you at least let me apologize for what I said? It was terribly insensitive, especially so because I…have experienced similar feelings…"

After a long, tense moment, the door revealed to reveal a slightly less angry looking Jun. Anja forced a small smile, but could not hold it for long.

"I really am sorry, you know. But before you stay angry, could you at least consider that my friends and family are dead now? It's a tad difficult to be pleasant."

Jun seemed almost at a loss for words. "Dead…?"

Anja nodded slowly. "I don't think the dolls had time to explain much, but the crazy doll put me to sleep when I was fourteen years old. Just yesterday, she revealed my location to them in hopes I could serve as bait for their Rosa Mysticas. However, she became concerned with something else and…here I am."

Jun let those words sink in, though he still could not muster much of a response. Instead, he moved aside slightly, allowing her space to enter his room.

"Thank you."

"Sure, I guess…"

Anja smiled, taking a seat in Jun's computer chair. "Oh, it spins around when I move! Why is this?"

Jun instantly regretted his softer side getting the best of him as he saw Anja curiously gazing around his room.

"Uh, well, there are wheels under the chair," Jun muttered, sitting back on his bed and trying desperately to look away from the curious girl. "Be careful. Shinku will have my head if you end up getting hurt."

"Anja Ludenberg is always careful," Anja boasted, grinning widely. "And clearly out of place, as well…"

"What do you mean?" Jun asked halfheartedly, wondering quietly where Shinku had gone on such short notice. Couldn't she entertain Anja? It was, Jun would very soon admit, extremely embarrassing to have a girl in his room. If his mother could only see him now, she would have a fit.

"The girls in this century are so much less conservatively dressed," Anja murmured, glancing down at herself. Her long, blue dress and stockings were certainly out of place next to the t-shirt and miniskirt Nori had gone out in earlier. She was definitely envious. "It's…exciting, really. But I do not have the money for any new clothing."

Here, Jun saw a small window of opportunity to get the girl out of his room. "N-Nori's a nice girl! She'd be happy to let you borrow some of her clothes!"

Anja's face instantly lit up, offering some hope to Jun's attempt. "A nice girl indeed! Then, I should change right away!"

"Y-You do that," Jun muttered, quickly waving Anja towards the door. "And, look for those rotten dolls, too. I think they went somewhere."

Anja nodded, running out of the room and into Nori's.

Jun sighed, leaning back against the bedframe and holding his head. "Damn that rotten little doll…where could she have gone that fast?"

"Oh, I was wondering the same thing! Maybe we could look for them together?"

Jun whirled around so fast his head spun. Was Anja back already? He looked all around the small room, but there was no one in sight. Just as he decided to chop it up to his imagination, something tugged on his pant leg rather forcefully.

"Down here!" Yuki-Koori hissed, putting her hands on her hips. "As if I don't feel badly enough about my height already!"

"You," Jun growled, stepping back slightly so that he could see the pouting monster. "How did you get in here, anyway? I locked the door! I locked all of them!"

"You do have a pet door, you know," Yuki-Koori stated matter-of-factly, taking a seat on the bed. "Anyway, didn't you hear me? I was looking for Fumiko and Shinku, too."

Jun made a face, picking up the doll and ignoring her protests as he set her back down on the floor. "So? What do I care if you're looking for those rotten dolls?"

"Jun, this is important!" Yuki-Koori wailed, balling up her fists and beating against his shin. "I think they're going after Kirakishou! They're probably gonna die, ya know!"

"Don't you have any faith in your sisters?" Jun retorted, though the thought of Shinku being in trouble was already enough to persuade him. "Fine, fine! I guess it is better than being stuck with the girl, right?"

"I heard that," Anja deadpanned as she reentered Jun's room, but her mood quickly changed as she took note of Yuki-Koori's sudden appearance. "Good morning, Yuki! Doesn't this look suit me so much better?"

Yuki-Koori smiled, eyeing Anja up and down. She seemed to have raided Nori's closet, exchanging her old clothing for a t-shirt and skirt not entirely dissimilar to the ones Nori had left the house wearing merely hours earlier. She also seemed to have grown tired of wearing her hair down at her back, and had quickly adopted a ponytail that hung loosely over her shoulder.

"You look good," Yuki-Koori commented after a moment, winking. "I bet Jun's blushing!"

"L-Like hell I am!" Jun hissed, hiding his obviously flushed cheeks as he walked ahead of the two and out of the door. "If you want to find them, hurry up and follow me!"

Anja seemed curious, but did not question Jun further. Picking up Yuki-Koori and holding her against her side, she quickly followed Jun into the basement room with the old mirror. As she began looking around, she quickly determined that Jun's apparently never present parents were quite the hoarders. Many antiques littered the floor, making it difficult to cross the room.

"This is an interesting room," Anja commented quietly, noting Jun's embarrassment as she tripped and stumbled over various items littering the small floor. "Your parents are collectors?"

"Something like that," Jun answered halfheartedly, watching with genuine interest as Yuki-Koori jumped out of Anja's arms and pressed her hand into the mirror, successfully creating an entrance into the N-Field.

Anja blinked, only vaguely remembering her first trip into the N-Field hundreds of years prior. It had scared her to no end, especially when they had run into the first doll like clockwork. She did not remember Yuki-Koori's other sisters very well—save for Fumiko – but most of them seemed to have taken a liking to her at the time. She couldn't help but wonder what they could have been thinking when they had discovered she was still alive and well, and right under their noses. Suigintou, when she had seen her last, had even seemed a little curious of her existence. To her, Anja knew, it was like being with the next best thing to her father, though their relation was still an uncertain topic to both Anja and the Rozen Maidens.

Yuki-Koori seemed to know the way, Jun noted, and she took control of the group as she reluctantly flew in the direction she remembered Kirakishou's N-Field being in.

"This place is just the same as I remember it," Anja commented after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

Yuki-Koori nodded. "The N-Field doesn't really change much. I was surprised we hadn't run into Kirakishou before, honestly."

Yuki-Koori could not begin to fathom why Kirakishou had only felt the need to make her presence in the Alice Game known now. She had claimed, several times since Yuki-Koori had first met her, that she had been alive for about four hundred years. Just like Yuki-Koori. Why, only now, had the chips fallen in just the right place to help Kirakishou realize she could take a physical body from one of them to enter the Alice Game? What had happened to cause Kirakishou to realize that after all this time? Yuki-Koori's thoughts caused her to feel heavy. Her entire body, though very small, felt as if it could have weighed a ton at this point.

"Shinku…is that Yuki-Koori? With Jun, and Anja?"

This voice, a very familiar voice, had abruptly removed her from her thoughts. Fumiko stood, awestruck, beside a slightly concerned looking Shinku. Yuki-Koori, though she had tried to keep her anger under control, felt herself losing control very quickly.

"That's just not fair, Fumiko," she grouched, stiffly folding her arms across her chest. "Why are you going after Kirakishou so quickly after we got rid of her? It's completely unnecessary!"

Fumiko twitched. She had not considered Yuki-Koori's reaction much in her leaving with Shinku in order to settle things with Kirakishou. She did, however, not expect her to be this angry.

"She wasn't going to stay away forever…"

"But, you don't have to go after her now! She's…she's concerned with something else…"

Shinku sighed a little. "And you, Jun? Why did you decide to come with her?"

"Because _you _ran off," Jun hissed, pointing an accusing finger at her before continuing. "I was… Well, Yuki-Koori was worried!"

Though she was still irritated with Fumiko, Yuki-Koori choked back a snicker at how badly Jun lied. "Oh, yes, dear sister. I couldn't _bear _another moment without you."

Shinku, though she strongly desired to roll her eyes, held her ladylike demeanor with quickly fading patience. "That's enough, Yuki-Koori. I believe we all know Jun's true feelings, after all."

"True feelings!? Why, you rotten little…"

"We still have to find Kirakishou…" Fumiko commented quietly amongst the ruckus. "I'm surprised she hasn't found _us _yet."

"She's keeping herself hidden purposefully, I imagine," Shinku murmured, quietly calculating the possibility of Kirakishou having already gotten to Suigintou's medium. "I do wonder how she is faring with her own body in the real world, after living here for her entire life."

Fumiko nodded. "And I myself wonder how she…did what she did to Hina-Ichigo. Shouldn't her body have rejected Kirakishou's soul?"

Anja sighed, placing her knees against her chin from where she was perched on a door. "I guess this isn't as much of a fairy tale as I thought all that time ago. Maybe evil can triumph, after all."

Shinku cracked a small smile. "Of course evil can triumph in the end. But Kirakishou isn't truly evil, terrible as she may be. She was simply put under unfortunate circumstances at her birth."

"You could really forgive her, after everything she did to Hina-Ichigo?" Yuki-Koori asked, her shock displayed openly. "I can't!"

Shinku shook her head. "I will never forgive Kirakishou for what she did…and how she did it. But, I cannot be foolish enough not to recognize the Rozen Maiden in her. She was created by father; she must have some light in her."

"And you can't do the same for Suigintou?" Yuki-Koori pressed, entirely ready for the intense rivalry between her two older sisters to end. Though they had cooled off enough not to be fighting each other constantly, it was still a bother for Yuki-Koori to know.

Shinku paused for a moment, seemingly surprised her sister had asked such a question so quickly. "O…Of course I can. She is a Rozen Maiden, too. The first."

"It's not as if Suigintou desires Shinku's recognition, right?" Fumiko murmured, though the long-lasting feud between her sisters was one thing she hoped would be corrected in her lifetime. "She wants our father to recognize her."

"Don't we all?" Yuki-Koori laughed weakly, perching herself beside Anja. "But her desire far exceeds ours, that's for sure."

"…Let's continue, then. I'm sure she knows we're looking for her by now." Shinku noted dully, walking ahead of the group as they looked after her, all visibly concerned.

"Hey, Fumiko?" Yuki-Koori asked quietly, jumping off of the door and following behind Jun as he attempted to catch up to Shinku.

Fumiko smiled at her sister from where she stood, pleased she hadn't been too angry with her. "What is it?"

"You forgot, didn't you?" Yuki-Koori chuckled a little, though she was entirely serious. "I bet you did."

Fumiko cocked her head slightly, quietly mulling over something she could have forgotten about that would require her sister to notice. "Forgot what? Did I not lace my boots before I left?"

Yuki-Koori shook her head. "You forgot about our promise, dummy. We promised each other we'd always fight together."

Fumiko nodded solemnly. "Yes, I do remember that. But, would you really have come all the way down here for this?"

"Naturally," Yuki-Koori grinned. "Besides, it's no fun with just Sekihi around."

"You two are just the same, aren't you?" Anja asked as she caught up with the group. "Always talking about being together. You might as well get married."

Yuki-Koori chuckled, unable to ignore Fumiko's horrified expression. "Don't worry about it, Fumiko, I'll wear the dress."

"T-Tch," Fumiko muttered, unsuccessfully hiding her red cheeks. "Crude humor. You haven't changed, either, Anja!"

"Megu, won't you eat any? Your father did tell me this was your favorite…"

Megu, though she was not hard of hearing in the slightest, ignored the nurse with skill that could have only been obtained through years of practice. Instead of listening to the nurse prattle on about the food she would refuse to eat anyway, she continued to sing.

The nurse smiled bitterly, leaving the food on the table beside the ailing girl and quietly letting herself out.

Megu sighed with both relief and frustration. Though the nurse leaving had taken away one of her problems, a bigger problem still bothered her to no end. Her angel was nowhere to be found. For nearly two days, she had not bothered to show her presence around her medium, who was becoming more irritable by the moment.

Yet, with greater persistence than she realized she was capable of, she kept singing.

"_Overcoming the light and clouds…"_

"…_Your voice echoes…"_

Megu jumped, looking around frantically. Who else could have known her song but her Angel? Had she finally arrived?

"Sorry, I don't think I'm who you're looking for," the same voice giggled softly, finally deciding to reveal itself to the frightened girl. "Not a Black Angel of Death…perhaps a White Angel, instead?"

Megu blinked, taking in the appearance of the girl in front of her. "You…You're one of Angel's sisters, aren't you?"

"Oh, Suigintou," Kirakishou murmured, shaking her head softly. "Not only did you decide to pick up a human medium, but she's deathly ill…But, no matter. I'll rid of her for you."

Megu eyed the doll curiously, smiling warmly. "A White Angel of Death, then? Do you have a name?"

Kirakishou looked back at the girl, unwanted curiosity filling her mind. "I am Kirakishou, the seventh doll of the Rozen Maidens. And you, you are big sister Suigintou's… _medium_."

Megu nodded encouragingly. "Yes, I am. Would you…happen to know where she is? She hasn't shown up here for days…"

Kirakishou giggled, clearly amused with being able to witness the girl's distress. "I'm sure big sister has reconsidered the contract she made with you. Why on earth would she want such a sickly human for a medium?"

Before Megu could respond, a black feather shot through the open window behind Kirakishou, effectively piercing her exposed wrist. Through the immense pain it brought on, she looked back in time to see Suigintou perched at the window, hand raised.

"Big sister…how could you?" Kirakishou wheezed, grabbing the feather out of her and quietly feeling the sadness over the newly formed cracks it left. "My new body feels that pain so much more than yours could!"

Suigintou scoffed. "Unless you want to lose that entire poorly constructed body, do not threaten my medium again. Of course, if what you came here for is a fight, I'll happily oblige."

Kirakishou stood up weakly, glaring at her sister with unhidden condescension. "You have lost focus, dearest sister. Why would you defend this poor excuse for a medium?"

Suigintou glanced at her ailing medium for a moment before addressing her little sister. "What I do is none of your business, you pretentious brat. Now tell me, what business do you have with me?"

Kirakishou shook her head, smiling softly. "The Alice Game has begun, Suigintou! Did you not feel the loss of Hina-Ichigo last night?"

Suigintou blinked, pursing her lips. She had felt some absence, but did not think much of it at the time. "And you did that?"

Kirakishou nodded fiercely. "Yes, sister. I was able to attract the others as well! They all ran to protect her, too!"

Suigintou sniffed, unimpressed. "I don't see why you would relish in such a victory. The weak child had already all but perished, and that was Shinku's doing."

"It isn't my most impressive feat," Kirakishou agreed, though clearly put-off by her sister's lack of encouragement. "But I did begin the Alice Game...and our dearly departed sister did allow me to be able to leave the N-Field! Aren't you proud, big sister?"

"Not very," Suigintou sighed, fed up with the idle conversation Kirakishou had forced her into. "If you truly want my praise, you would have to defeat all of us. And you could never achieve that, seventh doll."

Now, it was Kirakishou's turn to scoff. "You are forgetting, big sister, that I am burden free. I do not need a _medium _to enhance my fighting ability. But, don't worry. I still admire you, putting a pesky little sister like me in my place! How endearing, Suigintou!"

And with one last laugh, Kirakishou had vanished. Suigintou cursed quietly, folding her arms across her chest.

"That doll…" she murmured. "I'll have to take care of her…after I meet up with Shinku one last time."

"…But she was right, wasn't she?"

Suigintou looked up quickly, almost having forgotten the fact that her medium had witnessed the entire exchange.

"What are you going on about now?" Suigintou sighed out. "I don't think that doll is capable of such, but enlighten me, then."

Megu nodded. "She was right. You are stuck with a weak, incapable medium. So you should use up my life quickly and find a new one, okay?"

"Stop talking like that," Suigintou hissed irritably, turning away from the girl's pitiable expression and glaring at the city scene below. "I don't need a better medium. I don't even need your miniscule amount of power."

"Yes. You're right," Megu smiled, though it held very little happiness. "You're a perfect angel. You don't need a boost at all."

Suigintou bit her lip, knowing her next words would leave a funny taste on her tongue.

"…I keep you around because you are a bearable human. Don't ruin that by pestering me about death again."

Megu's expression quickly changed from a weak smile to shock as she heard these words, but recovered quickly. "I'll do my best, then, angel."

* * *

"Suiseiseki, quit pacing like that, you're making me nervous!"

Suiseiseki huffed irritably, giving her medium an unusually cold glare. "Shut up, you! It's none of your business how I decide to wait for Souseiseki, yes?"

"I know," Mizuki sighed, gently placing her hands under her chin. "But you never did tell me why she left so suddenly. It's unlike her, don't you think?"

"Y-You think I know that?!" Suiseiseki wailed, throwing her arms up in an exaggeratedly frustrated manner. "She hasn't been the same since that damn Kirakishou bugged her…"

"She'll come back," Mizuki said, halfheartedly smiling at the distraught doll. "She probably just needs time to work things out."

Just as Suiseiseki prepared to launch into another verbal lashing, the large vanity mirror in the corner of Mizuki's room began to glow, slowly revealing the blue clad doll. Mizuki bit her lip, easing herself under the covers in preparation for the war that would certainly take place in a few minutes. It was a very strange thing to be afraid of, she had noted quietly. Though she had only known the sisters for a short amount of time, seeing them—though more on Souseiseki's part—at such odds with each other was painful to witness. She knew it wasn't right. A negative air had consumed the room entirely the minute Souseiseki had left, and had not lifted since.

"Souseiseki!" Suiseiseki shrieked, her voice dripping with relief. "I was really worried, dummy!"

Souseiseki blinked, adopting a zombie-like pace as she walked towards her case and opened it. "That's too bad, isn't it? Sorry."

"Wait just a damn minute!" Suiseiseki growled, slamming her sister's case hard enough to shake the floor. "You're not going to bed without telling me what the hell you did that for, yes!"

Souseiseki's eyes widened slightly. "Don't yell that like…Mizuki is trying to sleep."

"This isn't about that puny dolt!" Suiseiseki huffed, folding her arms across her chest and ignoring the muffled 'HEY!' Mizuki yelled from under her covers. "Souseiseki…You've been acting weird since that rotten one-eyed doll talked to you. Why?"

Souseiseki closed her eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh. "You're reading too deeply into things, sister. Now, please, be quiet and allow me to sleep."

Though she was nearly ready to burst into tears, Suiseiseki stood her ground in front of her twin's case. "I refuse to let you sleep until you tell me why you're acting like a weirdo!"

"Fine," Souseiseki said evenly, giving up all hopes for sleep as Suiseiseki stood in front of her case, arms outstretched in case she tried to pass her. "Then hear me well. I think you aren't taking the Alice Game seriously enough."

The silence that filled the room could cut through metal.

"What…?" Suiseiseki finally whispered, dropping her arms in defeat. "What about the Alice Game?"

"Everything about it," Souseiseki hissed, now uncharacteristically frustrated. "Do you not realize that it has now officially been set in motion? Hina-Ichigo died last night."

"O-Of course I realize that!" Suiseiseki retorted weakly. "Her…Her Rosa Mystica is Shinku's now, yes?"

Souseiseki nodded stiffly. "Yes, it is. And none of you did a thing about Kirakishou. You sent her away, like the cowardly bunch you are."

Mizuki, no longer able to bear the usually happily talking and close sisters fighting, shot up from her bed, only succeeding in causing the burns on her arm to ache tremendously.

"Master!" Souseiseki gasped audibly, seeing her medium wheezing in pain as she clenched her arm. "Your uncle told you not to move so much…"

"I don't care," Mizuki spat, removing her clenched hand from her arm and glaring down at the two dolls. "I think you're being absolutely terrible, Souseiseki! Your sisters love you!"

"I'm sure they do," Souseiseki replied slowly, feeling the pain of Mizuki's insult tenfold. "But they should not. We Rozen Maidens were not meant to love each other. How could we, if we were born to kill each other?"

"But your father was _wrong, _Souseiseki," Mizuki sighed out desperately, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "You should love each other. You're sisters, aren't you!?"

Suiseiseki glanced up at her medium, giving her a grateful look. "Y-Yes, Souseiseki! The human has some pretty nice things to say sometimes, yes?

Souseiseki smiled slightly, though she could not hold the expression for long. "She does. But our father needs us to do this, Suiseiseki. I…I was glad to be friendly with you all in the past, but now is different. Father is suffering greatly due to our incompetence towards our task. We need to settle this once and for all; as soon as possible."

"Souseiseki, do you really want to fight?" Mizuki asked, hoping this would elicit some remorse out of the doll. "I always thought you were so kind…too kind to kill…"

Souseiseki sighed again, unable to help noticing how much she had been doing so lately. "I thank you for that, Mizuki. But, I want what father wants. Suiseiseki, as much as I hate hurting you, I do intend to become Alice. And very soon."

Suiseiseki swallowed roughly, attempting to silence the sobs that wracked her chest. "Are you absolutely sure, Souseiseki? Is that…really what you want? You'll tear me down, too?"

"Don't think that I hadn't given the idea much thought, Suiseiseki," Souseiseki warned, almost pleadingly. "I…I had thought about my feelings towards Father and the Alice Game every day. I even considered becoming the vigilante Shinku is once. But, I know what I want now. And that is to please Father. It's the least I can do; he created me."

With this, she grabbed Suiseiseki's free hand gently. "I do not wish to hurt you. I do not wish to hurt any of our sisters. But it is our fate, as Rozen Maidens. Please try and understand this, for once."

"I don't give a damn about fate!" Suiseiseki groaned, throwing her other hand in the air as she officially gave up all hope of bringing her twin back to her side. "But, you won't let me stop you, will you?"

"Not a chance," Souseiseki shook her head, releasing Suiseiseki's hand and moving towards her own case. "I would like you to do the same as I have, Suiseiseki. I would like it if you considered your own role in the Alice Game before you truly decide you'd rather not fight. Though I do not deserve your cooperation, can you do that?"

Drawing in a shaky breath, Suiseiseki attempted to nod. "I'll do it for you, Souseiseki. But only if you think about it one last time, too! Please!"

"If that is what you want."

With that, Souseiseki's case closed, leaving her shocked medium and defeated sister to their own thoughts. Mizuki let out a shaky sigh, relaxing her tensed shoulders. It was the first argument she had witnessed since the accident. Though she knew they were going on all around her—her parents had definitely had enough of each other during the month long hospital stay—she had allowed herself to remain blissfully ignorant of any anger or sadness other than her own. That had allowed her to forget how emotionally exhausting witnessing another's pain was. She almost wished she had stayed that way.

"Are…are you alright, Suiseiseki?" Mizuki sighed out, noticing the doll had moved over the window and now looked to be in deep thought. "I wish I could have done more."

"You did enough, human," Suiseiseki said, her voice calm despite the defeated tone it still held. "Thank you for trying to bring her back…but…I think she's always felt this way."

"I understand," Mizuki said, slowly nestling herself back under the covers as her emotional exhaustion quickly reverted back to a physical form. "We'll…we'll figure things out, for sure."

Suiseiseki smiled a little at Mizuki's encouraging words. "For sure, yes."

With that, both human and doll closed their eyes, trying to forget the day's events.

* * *

**A/N:**

**AAAAH! I know it's been forever (or, er, about two months…) since I last updated this story, but with exams, the end of school, and the beginning of summer (as I like it call it, weeks' worth of laziness), writing just really didn't get done. Thank you for the two reviews I got while I was gone. To the anonymous critic, I definitely agree with you. Kirakishou was too loud, and Suigintou was definitely all over the place with her in character…ness. I have tried to remedy it, but who knows how that went, as most of this writing was done after reasonable hours. And to James Birdsong, thank you for your mercy! U w U**

**I hope to get another chapter up soon, but I make no promises. For now, I'll be counting down the days until Thursday: Rozen Maiden 2013 day! Woo!**

**Bye!**


	12. Chapter 11 (Final Decision)

There was never a dull moment in the Kusabue household.

The noise was nearly endless, thanks to the eccentric doll lover who ran aforementioned household. It was a large apartment, but there was enough noise made to annoy most of their poor neighbors. Mitsu knew this, but she determined it simply could not be helped. Their neighbors didn't have a cute, living doll for a companion! They couldn't understand why it was completely necessary to scream about it for most daylight hours.

Well, except the Moriya family. But Yuki-Koori and Fumiko were away so often that it didn't make much of a difference.

At least, Mitsu_ thought_ so. Kanaria, cute as she was, wasn't always the best source for information.

"Oh, Kanaria," Mitsu sighed longingly as she glanced at the paper she'd just received in the mail that day. "Someone just offered to pay me a whole bunch of money for some pictures modeling their new line of doll clothing, and I only have one doll to do it with! Whatever shall I _DO_?"

Kanaria blinked, glancing up from her omelet to face her distraught medium. "What are you askin' me to do about it? Wait, Micchan, anything but that!"

Kanaria was definitely not in the mood to be around any of her sisters. With Hina-Ichigo's recent passing, the Alice Game was on all of their minds. Which one of her sisters would actually be willing to participate in a photo-shoot right now?

"_I know they're a bunch of suckers," _Kanaria thought irritably, trying to concentrate on her omelet instead of her pleading medium. _"But they're definitely not going to agree to that, y'know!" _

"Oh, please Kanaria?" Mitsu whined again, getting down on her hands and knees for an added effect. "I really need this money! Rent is due in…WAH!"

"Dummy," Kanaria sniffed, though her resolve was weakening a little at the thought of her medium being homeless due to her inability to spend money wisely. "You should stop buying all of those doll clothes, y'know!"

"Please, Kanaria?" Mitsu asked again, knowing her reduced tone might surprise Kanaria into agreeing. "I really need your help…"

Kanaria bit her bottom lip, visibly frustrated but lacking more resolve. "Kana might be able to hassle Yuki-Koori and Fumiko into doing it. And maybe that mean Sekihi; she always tags along with them."

Yuki-Koori had participated in Micchan's dress-up torture twice without too much complaint, after all. Fumiko was too nice to express her disgusted thoughts aloud. Sekihi had taken to following the two dolls like a baby lamb, so Kanaria knew it would be easy enough to get her to come. What about the others? They were clearly all awake. Suigintou and Kirakishou were definitely out of the question. Shinku had softened up lately, so perhaps she would want to join?

She wasn't too keen on either of the twins, and she didn't think either of the time would want to participate, either, so she ruled that out. That was four more dolls, if she played her cards right.

"Kana will be back soon," Kanaria resolved, sighing loudly as she walked out of the door and towards the elevator. Normally she would have taken a more bold entrance, even if her first destination was just downstairs, but she knew if she wanted her sisters on her side for the day broken windows were definitely out of the question.

As she stood in front of the door leading the Moriya family's apartment, she became increasingly worried. What if the parents were home? Even if the thought of her showing up like that was mildly humorous, Yuki-Koori would probably bash her head inside out if she found out she had revealed herself like that. She hesitantly held out her hand, rapping on the door twice. A tense moment passed before the door jiggled a little and then was yanked wide open. Kanaria's legs wobbled as they prepared themselves for a quick getaway, but the only person she could see there was a tired looking Yuki-Koori.

"Kanaria?" Yuki-Koori yawned out, stretching her arms high above her head as she finished. "What do you want?"

Kanaria was quickly losing confidence, but she knew she had to do this. For Micchan, even if she had brought about her own trouble.

"Listen here!" she started, pointing her parasol at the now frightened looking Yuki-Koori. "I have come down here to invite you to a very special event! You should be honored!"

Yuki-Koori made a face, but eventually stepped out into the hallway. "Kanaria, I hope you know you pick the worst times to invite us to play dress-up with that idiot you call Micchan."

"J-Just hear me out, Yuki-Koori!" Kanaria whined, dropping the parasol at her side in defeat. "Micchan bought so many doll clothes she can't pay the rent. So Kana, being the benevolent companion I am, decided to give her a hand! She needs us to model for a line of doll clothes!"

Yuki-Koori sighed. She didn't really care about Mitsu at all, even if she did end up homeless due to her own idiocy. But Kanaria, on the other hand, she did reluctantly find herself caring about. Even if Fumiko, Sekihi, and Shinku were all still waiting for her inside, she knew they were probably itching to stop talking about the inevitable and have a teensy bit of fun. Shinku's opinion on the matter was debatable at this point, but if she was really needed—even if it was for something stupid—she would help her sister out.

"Come inside," Yuki-Koori sighed out, placing her hand around Kanaria's shoulder and pulling her into the warm room. "A few of us are here. Maybe we could get something to happen."

"You're not such a bad sister after all!" Kanaria chirped, walking alongside Yuki-Koori as they entered what appeared to be Takumi's room. Sure enough, a few of their sisters were there. Sekihi was lounged lazily against a heated blanket with Fumiko beside her, but Shinku had opted to sit dutifully in the rocking chair across the room instead of relax.

"Oh?" Shinku looked up to see Yuki-Koori and Kanaria walking side by side. "It was the second doll. What do you want?"

"She might require our assistance," Yuki-Koori chuckled, knowing Kanaria would be mortified if forced to admit it herself. "Her medium's life is ruined and she needs us to model some doll clothes for money."

Sekihi made a face from her comfortable position on the floor. "And you invited her in for what reason, Yuki-Koori?"

"I-It should be an honor!" Kanaria pointed an accusing finger at the doll as she reminded her of this. "We'll be absolutely famous now! Especially me, the cutest!"

"I have to disagree," Sekihi smirked, rolling over to face Yuki-Koori. "I think Yuki-Koori is the cutest of us."

Yuki-Koori turned bright red at those words, kicking Sekihi's side in a panic. "Y-You are so…!"

"I think we're famous enough," Fumiko laughed at her sisters' odd exchange, though the kick Yuki-Koori administered was very cringe-worthy. "We _are_ the Rozen Maidens. But we'll help her out, won't we, Shinku?"

Shinku sighed, closing the book she'd been reading and eyeing the second doll critically. "We do have a lot more to be thinking about than a photo shoot, you know. However…"

Kanaria waited for her answer impatiently, even tapping her feet a little as the tension grew higher.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt too much to take a break," she stood up as she said this, straightening her dress out a little. "We have been at this for two days now…though _some _of us have been working harder than others."

Sekihi smiled sheepishly, standing up and pulling Fumiko up with her. With that, the five dolls ambled awkwardly back upstairs to Micchan's apartment. Shinku was a little upset with herself for ignoring the possibility of Kirakishou striking while they were clearly vulnerable, but she also knew the doll had not made herself present at all since they had unintentionally sent her on a mission to rid of Suigintou's medium. Suigintou, she had been informed, had sent Kirakishou away herself for the moment. In that case, what else was left to assume but that she was planning something on an even larger scale? Could it be something that would catch them all off guard? Eliminate them all at once? The thought made her sick.

Either way, she wanted to do this. Not because she enjoyed the torture that came with being around Kanaria's eccentric medium, but because she wanted to do something out of the kindness of her heart for the doll. It was, she knew, unlike her.

But, with Hina-Ichigo's passing came incomprehensible amounts of guilt. She had not been entirely kind to the doll, even if she had left this world knowing they had tried their hardest to help her. The way she had treated the doll, as an inferior, was entirely shameful to her now. Hina-Ichigo had been brave enough to face Kirakishou, after all. How could such a doll be inferior? She had earned her right to be called the sixth doll of Rozen Maiden.

But, for now, this was the only way she could think to atone for her treatment of the doll.

"Y-You did help me out, Kana!" Micchan jumped up from her slumped position on the floor, running over to meet the newly arrived dolls. Yuki-Koori and Fumiko she did recognize, but who were the two others?

"R-Right," Yuki-Koori cleared her throat, moving herself slightly behind Fumiko. "The doll in the red is our sister Shinku, and the one with the creepy, red eyes is Sekihi."

Sekihi pouted, tugging on Yuki-Koori's arm. "My eyes aren't creepy! How dare you _introduce _me with that kind of a lie!"

"You're right, you're right," Yuki-Koori laughed, pulling Sekihi's tiny hand off of her arm. "At least you have two of them."

"I can't believe it!" Micchan blurted out, wrapping the five dolls into a painful hug as she did. "Your interactions are so cute! You can even argue! You even have a _sarcasm _function!"

"Kanaria, you sure have your hands full," Fumiko huffed out through the hug as she attempted to push the woman off of her poor sisters. Fortunately, Shinku intervened with a quick swish of her pigtails, knocking Micchan down about two feet away.

Kanaria shook her head, sighing. "Micchan is…very…"

"Interesting," Shinku interrupted irritably. "We don't have very long to stay, Mitsu. If you want something with us, shouldn't we get started now?"

"Oh, yes!" Micchan shot up, running over to her closet door and pulling it open. From it came a very large, intimidating looking box. It was sealed rather poorly with tape, but nearly every corner of box sported what appeared to be the name of the company.

'Marie's Doll World'

"Marie?" Shinku mused quietly, backing away as Micchan swayed unsteadily with the heavy box. "I wonder…"

"The presence of a new maestro is always interesting," Fumiko added from beside Shinku, causing her to jump. "Do you think her dolls are a force to be reckoned with?"

"Judging by the clothes," Yuki-Koori murmured as Micchan began frantically pulling the clothing out of the box. "She's pretty good. Do you think her shop is anywhere nearby?"

Before Shinku could respond, Micchan had already sorted out the clothes for which doll she wanted to wear them and had dropped their respective piles beside them.

"Micchan," Kanaria groaned as she flipped through the clothes. "There are so many outfits! And you got them all for _free_?"

"Sure did!" Micchan said proudly, waving the letter in the air. "Marie said she'd seen my pictures on the Internet and thought I was the perfect choice for the job!"

Yuki-Koori frowned. Takumi had, in his spare time, attempted to teach her about computers and the Internet, but they still confused her to no end. However, she knew if their pictures were somewhere on the Internet, they had most likely gathered considerable attention.

The Rozen Maidens had faithfully remained nothing more than myth to most people who had managed to find any information on them. While Rozen had not put any rules on hiding their existence from humans, obviously, it still made Yuki-Koori a little uncomfortable. Doll collectors, she had learned from experience, were very odd people sometimes. Obsessions made Yuki-Koori uncomfortable in general, especially after seeing Kirakishou's infatuation with Suigintou.

"Where, exactly, are you putting those pictures?" Fumiko piped up weakly as she gazed at the amount of pink outfits thrown her way. "I don't really feel comfortable with this, you know. You should have asked."

Micchan pouted. "Just on my blog. They have gained a considerable amount of traffic, but it's nothing you need to be worried about!"

With that, Micchan left Fumiko to her internal protests and began setting up her camera equipment and green screen. Sekihi sighed, shaking her head softly. Even if she hadn't been living in the human world for very long, she knew those things must have cost a fortune. And yet, they had been brought up here because she was low on money?

"What a load of crap," Sekihi grumbled, picking up the frilly, brown blouse on the floor and tracing the collar gently. "I like this one, though."

Shinku smiled a little as she looked through the clothing pile. Yuki-Koori had been right; the clothes were definitely superb in quality. She noticed Micchan had mostly set out very princess-like outfits for her to wear, crowns included. Micchan had read her personality well, which surprised her a little.

However, she couldn't help but be reminded of a conversation she'd had with Jun before she'd gone off to fight Suigintou. Nori had insisted their clothes should be washed, but her dress had to wait. First, she needed her cuffs fixed. Jun was reluctant, but eventually he had taken the tiny sewing kit out of his closet and began working on it.

Jun had an exceptional talent for sewing. Even enough so that Shinku often imagined a future when Jun was maestro like Rozen. His fingers were very magical, making watching him sew a very enjoyable activity.

She'd made him promise that one day, if she should become Alice, that he would sew her a princess robe in celebration. He'd doubted he had the skill to do that much, but Shinku knew the dresses in front of her could not hold a candle to the way Jun's clothes would look.

"Hina-Ichigo would have loved this," Fumiko noted quietly as she began pulling her dress off. "I'm so angry…I wish she could be here with us."

Hina-Ichigo had loved doing all things girly, dress-up definitely included. Though her previous medium, the young Tomoe, had often done those kinds of things with her, she'd been unable to since moving into the Sakurada household. It saddened Shinku as she realized Fumiko was right. Hina-Ichigo would have loved to dress up and pose cutely in front of a camera. She would definitely brighten the mood a little more.

And they really did need that now, even if Kanaria was doing an alright job as she paraded around the room.

Yuki-Koori pulled her shoes off, finally taking a glance at the pile for something to wear. Micchan had set out a few winter themed outfits, but none of them really caught her eye. She remembered the last time she'd been here to dress up, only a couple of months ago. She'd been dressed up as Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, which was very strange to her at the time.

Especially considering poor Micchan probably had no idea about the Alice Game or the supposed fate of her doll friend.

Fumiko slid next to Yuki-Koori, causing her to jump. Apparently, she had found something to wear despite her initial reluctance. From out of various piles she had put together quite the outfit, consisting of a few clips in the shape of stars in her hair and a flowing, blue dress that showed off every doll joint in her arm and everything below her knees. Her socks were short, frilly, and with a few blue stars embroidered in the sides.

"You look nice," Yuki-Koori commented through a smile, her hand automatically moving to play with the beads dangling off of her hair clips. "Decided to dress up after all, huh?"

"Thank you," Fumiko smiled back, rubbing her hands against the chiffon material on her dress. "I just picked the softest things I could find that sort of matched. I like this color."

"We should change things up more often," Yuki-Koori noted as she sifted through the pile again. "It's… a breath of fresh air."

"I agree," Fumiko grinned, bending down in the pile to help Yuki-Koori. "What about one like mine? You look pretty good in black…"

Yuki-Koori took the piece Fumiko had held up for her, examining it carefully. It was a lot like her dress, even down to the material. Though she and Fumiko looked nothing alike, she knew Fumiko had always wanted them to dress similarly. Before she could jokingly remind Fumiko of this, she had begun pinning a few black stars on the side of her head.

"Did you see Sekihi?" Fumiko whispered as she finished putting the stars and begun looking for a similar pair of socks. "She looks so cute in all that pink, but she's sad about her eyes…"

Yuki-Koori bit her lip, guilty she had pointed out Sekihi's red eyes so rudely. Though Sekihi seemed about as confident as a doll could be without being, well, Kanaria, she was obviously very insecure when it came to the color of her eyes—a striking, ruby red.

At that moment, Sekihi came up beside them. She was, like Fumiko had pointed out, clad almost entirely in pink. She had apparently dropped the brown blouse, and instead chose a very girly, very frilly pink dress. With this she also found a pair of white stockings and pink shoes, but her light colors choices completely contrasted the dark look she was sporting.

"I hate my red eyes," she announced irritably, folding her arms across her chest. "I can only wear dark clothes, or it looks weird!"

Yuki-Koori smiled a little, giving Sekihi an affectionate pat on the head. "Shut up, Sekihi. You look just fine in pink. Great, actually."

Sekihi's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's good. I was hoping I'd get a compliment from you after you so rudely did not acknowledge mine."

"Look!" Fumiko clasped her hands over her mouth as she gazed at Shinku, who was being helped get ready by a reluctant looking Kanaria. Her dress was dark red, like her normal attire, but much longer in comparison. "She looks like a princess…Oh, Sekihi, please give her that crown!"

Sekihi looked at Fumiko oddly, surprised by her enthusiasm, but brought the crown she had been twirling around her finger towards Shinku and gently placing it on her head despite the height difference. Shinku seemed extremely embarrassed by the attention she was getting, but continued to hold her calm, cold demeanor.

"You look so pretty, Shinku!" Fumiko squeaked happily, throwing her arms around the unsuspecting doll, who shrieked in surprise. "This look suits you really well!"

"Th-Thank you, Fumiko," Shinku choked out through Fumiko's tight grip, attempting to push her off without using her pigtails. "Now…shouldn't we be taking pictures?"

"Hey!" Kanaria whined, clearly disappointed with the lack of attention her new attire was receiving. "You're forgetting about the prettiest, you know!"

"I didn't forget," Fumiko stuck her tongue out at Kanaria as she explained herself. "I was just about to compliment you, too. You look very pretty, Kanaria."

"Oh, sure, _now _you say it," Kanaria pouted, glancing back over at the frantically working Micchan. "Kana thinks Micchan's going to have a field day, though. You'd better watch out."

Shinku frowned. "I've never seen a medium this eccentric. I'm already tired, and we haven't taken pictures yet."

"That's Micchan for you," Kanaria shook her head. "Oh, speak of the devil…"

Micchan was waving for them to come over now, as she had apparently finally finished setting up her cameras.

"You all look so adorable!" she sang happily. "Especially you, Kanaria, you look amazing!"

"Like Kana said," Kanaria murmured, giving her sisters a fearful glance. "You'd better watch out."

Before her sisters could heed the warning she'd given them, they were immediately scooped up and placed in front of a large, intimidating camera.

* * *

"Bye, Kanaria," Yuki-Koori sighed, closing the door behind her as she finally filed out of the Kusabue apartment. Shinku and Fumiko had ran back to Jun's house as soon as Micchan wasn't paying attention, but Yuki-Koori and Sekihi had decided to stay and wait for some copies of the photos. Takana and Takumi would enjoy them, Yuki-Koori knew. Takana had stored all of the photos from the previous photo shoot in her room, and Takumi had even made his favorite poster sized and framed it above his bed.

"That was a mess," Sekihi yawned out, placing her hands above her head as she yawned. "But I had fun."

"It wasn't awful," Yuki-Koori lied, glancing down at Sekihi as she trudged along with the large packet of pictures in her arms. "But I can see you liked it. You kept the girly outfit."

"I've taken a liking to pink, I think," Sekihi explained as she pushed open the door to the Moriya family's apartment and walked inside. "We're home."

Takana poked her head out from the kitchen. "Nice to see you guys again. You've been gone all day."

"We had stuff to do," Yuki-Koori informed her medium dully, though she did feel bad for being gone for so long. "We're back for a little while, though."

Takana let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Well that's good. Takumi's been such a pain in the ass since you left."

"I'm sure he won't be too mad," Yuki-Koori laughed, taking the packet of pictures out of Sekihi's hand. "We brought a bunch of pictures."

While Sekihi moved into the kitchen to help Takana with dinner, Yuki-Koori walked upstairs to talk to Takumi. Takana often did describe him as being a pain in the ass when she was away, which made her feel strangely guilty. Yuki-Koori knew she was not a likely candidate for winning the Alice Game. And if she did not, she wasn't going to be able to come back. Did that make her only option winning, even if it meant tearing her sisters down? Did she love Takumi enough to do that? It was something she'd have to consider at length, even if her time was running out. Even so, she couldn't help but be aware that her bond with Takumi had far exceeded her bond with any medium, or any human she'd ever come in contact with.

"I'm home," Yuki-Koori sighed out lamely as she pushed open the door to Takumi's small room. "Hohoho, I brought gifts."

Takumi jumped out from his near-sleeping position on the bed, but quickly recovered when he noticed the doll standing in the doorway.

"Finally!" he grinned, picking Yuki-Koori up and setting her down on the bed. "Was that supposed to be an impression of Santa Claus?"

"I think so," Yuki-Koori frowned, handing Takumi the packet of pictures. "I was roped in to some photo shoot today. Sekihi and I thought you guys would like these."

"More pictures?" Takumi asked halfheartedly as he opened up the packet, careful not to tear too deeply. "My parents are going to think I'm insane."

"Should have thought of that before you framed that giant one over there," Yuki-Koori grinned, unable to hide how flattered it made her feel. "What d'you think?"

Takumi flipped through the pictures, laughing at Yuki-Koori as she attempted to pull herself up to see. He could see their expressions getting more annoyed as the pictures went on, which only further added to his amusement. After pulling out one with Yuki-Koori by herself, he couldn't help but notice the visible joints on her ankles, wrists, and elbows.

"You're a ball jointed doll?" he asked, showing her the picture as evidence. "I didn't know that…You're really well made for one."

Yuki-Koori nodded, cringing as she realized he had chosen the picture of her in a sailor-esque outfit. "Impressive. You've been doing research, haven't you?"

Takumi nodded enthusiastically, gesturing towards his computer. "I asked Fumiko about some things, too. She's really nice."

"That's why she's my favorite sister," Yuki-Koori smiled a little, though she already missed Fumiko terribly. "By the way, you're a total pervert, Takumi."

"No!" Takumi shrieked, dropping the picture he'd been looking at in the process. "I…You're a doll! I can't think about you like that!"

Yuki-Koori threw back her head as she laughed at his feeble attempt to defend himself. "Whatever, Takumi! Fine, then you're saying you'd be all over me if I were a human girl?"

"N-No! Well…" Takumi waved his hands around frantically as he attempted to come up with a response to her teasing. "I mean, I hope if you were human I'd be smart enough to make you my girlfriend! I mean…!"

"You love me," Yuki-Koori said matter-of-factly, though her tone was still slightly joking. "Don't try and hide that if you're going to make so obvious, dumbass."

Takumi fell back on his bed, sighing in defeat. "Yeah, Yuki-Koori, you win. You're funny, and brave, and…why am I telling you this, anyway!?"

Yuki-Koori laughed a little, trying desperately to push away the awkward air she'd created. "Thank you. If I were a human girl, I hope I'd be smart enough to at least make you my manslave."

"As if I wasn't that already," Takumi groaned, slamming his hands over his flushed cheeks. "I can't believe I told you that!"

"You shouldn't be ashamed," Yuki-Koori attempted to reassure him, though she still sounded uneasy. "It takes a special kind of person to bond with a Rozen Maiden, I think."

Takumi eventually sat up, sighing. "Before I forget and you have to leave again, could I try something?"

Yuki-Koori frowned, backing away defensively. "So help me Takumi, if I end up in different clothes again, you are dead…"

Takumi shook his head, quickly bending over to retrieve two ponytail holders. "I was stuck at my cousin's house the other day, and she taught me how to braid hair. And your hair is really long, so I was wondering…"

Yuki-Koori rolled her eyes, but turned around so her hair was facing Takumi. "You'd better know what you're doing. My old medium's little sister used to fix my hair, and I always ended up looking like a troll doll!"

"Yeah, yeah," Takumi sighed, gently running a small brush Takana had lent him through her thick, silvery hair.

Yuki-Koori pulled her knees up to her chest, feeling calm for the first time in weeks. Takumi did seem to know what he was doing, she noted with relief as he began parting her hair. Shinku had told her about a time that she'd allowed Jun to brush her hair, but she hadn't mentioned it being this comforting. Of course, it wasn't too surprising, as she had only allowed Jun to touch her hair because it turned into a mess in battle.

And Shinku would never tell anyone, even a sister, what kind of feelings she felt when it came to Jun. Even if they _were _fairly obvious.

As Takumi pulled the other side of her hair into another braid, she could feel her consciousness fading. She hadn't slept all that much in the past few days, but she hadn't noticed what kind of effect it had on her until now.

"Are you asleep?" Takumi whispered as he finished braiding her hair. "You keep leaning over."

Yuki-Koori shook her head, letting out a monstrous yawn seconds later. Takumi smiled, picking her up and placing her in front of his small mirror.

"I think I did okay," Takumi said, though he seemed embarrassed. "I feel so weird, doing something like that and being a boy…"

"You did a good job," Yuki-Koori smiled lazily as she tugged on the edge of a braid. "Doesn't matter if you're a boy. I'm going to go to sleep now."

"G'night, Yuki," Takumi waved a little as Yuki-Koori crawled into her case. "Thanks for coming home tonight."

Before Yuki-Koori could respond, a loud cracking noise at the window caused them both to scream. Glass begun to shatter, leaving Yuki-Koori only a second to spare as she jumped out of her case and shielded Takumi with barrage of ice.

"Dammit!" she cursed loudly, alerting the other doll of the household as she rushed up to see what had happened.

"Ugh…should have taken the door…" the voice of Suiseiseki whined out weakly as she picked herself up off of the floor, minding the broken glass and pillars of ice. "Damn it, Sui-Dream! You said Shinku and the bookworm lived here!"

"Nope," Sekihi shook her head, melting the ice away from Takumi. "And watch out next time, idiot! You almost killed the kid!"

"Hmph," Suiseiseki mumbled halfheartedly, causing Yuki-Koori to notice the worried expression she was sporting. "I guess I have to settle for you and the crazy one, then…"

"What's wrong?" Yuki-Koori sighed as Sui-Dream went to work with trying to fit the glass back in the window.

"I need your help," Suiseiseki spoke solemnly, pinning her arms by her sides as they shook. "Souseiseki…she…decided she wants to fight the Alice Game! We have to stop her now!"

Yuki-Koori's breathed hitched, even though she wasn't terribly surprised. "Who is she taking on? What happened?"

"I don't know," Suiseiseki whined, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "I bet she's taking on that damn Suigintou! She's always looking for a fight!"

"Takumi, I…" Yuki-Koori looked back worriedly, though her medium's expression remained blank. "I'll be back in the morning, okay? I promise."

"Do what you have to do," Takumi said softly, now completely resigned instead of throwing a fit. "I'll trust you."

Yuki-Koori waved halfheartedly, grabbing Sekihi's hand and taking her sisters into the N-Field. It was quiet, as usual, creating an irritating buzzing in her ears as she flew along beside a distraught Suiseiseki.

"I told her to reconsider," Suiseiseki hiccupped, wiping stray tears out of her eyes. "She…she decided to fight anyway! I can't believe I'm related to such a rotten brat of a little sister!"

"You can't honestly tell me you weren't expecting this," Yuki-Koori reminded her sister, internally cursing herself for her lack of comforting skills. "I mean…she was always like this."

"I know, yes!" Suiseiseki snapped. "But I was hoping she'd change her mind if I pressured her just a little…"

"Oh no," Sekihi whispered from beside them, causing them to look up at their surroundings. All around them, a web of rose vines had begun to form, encasing every door as they moved along. "Dead end…"

"Kirakishou," Yuki-Koori whispered, her voice shaking with fear. "D-Do you think Souseiseki…"

The clanging of the gardener's shears and flying of rose vines from behind them confirmed Yuki-Koori's theory only moments later, causing them all to jump in surprise.

"Souseiseki!" Suiseiseki wailed, a long plant vine bursting from under her and cutting through a small tangle of rose vines as she looked for her twin. "Stop it this instant! Kirakishou is insane!"

A laughed echoed from behind them as they looked around for the blue clad doll, catching them off guard.

"Look here, fourth doll," the whispery voice of Kirakishou murmured. "An entourage of sisters to help defend you. How terribly sweet."

Souseiseki landed beside her twin moments later, shears in hand. "Suiseiseki…how did you find me here?"

"We were looking for you because you ran off, idiot!" Suiseiseki sobbed, throwing her arms around her twin's stiff body. "Don't do this! Please, Souseiseki!"

"Your sister wanted this, elder gardener," Kirakishou reminded the doll, her tone sickeningly sweet as she allowed the rose vines to fade. "She's too fun to toy with, after all. So blind in her choices, so innocent, only wanting what her father wants..."

"Shut up," Souseiseki hissed, pushing her twin off roughly and slamming her shears into Kirakishou's open hands. "I will no longer be…bound by your shadow, Suiseiseki…! I no longer want to see your sad face!"

"Stop fighting!" Yuki-Koori attempted to shout as she shielded herself and Sekihi with a thin barrier of ice. "The Alice Game…it…"

"Has begun already," Kirakishou interrupted as she shot another barrage of rose vines at the irritable doll. "Come, Souseiseki. Show me your worth as a Rozen Maiden and leave that twin of yours behind for good."

"Do not intervene, Suiseiseki," Souseiseki commanded sharply as she dodged a rose vine headed straight toward her arm. "Or I'll…cut you…down, too!"

"How hurtful," Kirakishou giggled, zooming past Suiseiseki as she encased the three shocked dolls in another set of vines. "Rejected by your own, dearest sister and twin. How does it feel?"

"S-Souseiseki," Suiseiseki whispered, her voice broken as she struggled to remove herself from Kirakishou's iron rose grip. "You don't really…you can't mean…"

Souseiseki ignored her twin's soft pleas, charging at Kirakishou with all of her might. A loud crack sounded immediately afterwards, causing the three trapped dolls to look up in fear.

The sight before them was shockingly gruesome.

"I'm sorry," Kirakishou wheezed, laughing softly. "I don't think you'll get the chance to tear your twin down. You'll have to entrust that job to me…"

A large vine had gone completely through Souseiseki's chest just as she had managed to stick her shears into Kirakishou's side, creating horrific injuries on both ends. As Souseiseki fell to the dark void below, Kirakishou ripped the shears out of her side and threw them to the side.

Sekihi broke out of her vines with a long trail of fire immediately afterwards, allowing her time to rush over and grab Souseiseki's frail body.

"Souseiseki!" Suiseiseki wailed, pushing through the vines and running over to her sister, who was struggling to keep her eyes open. "Please, Souseiseki, don't go!"

Yuki-Koori pushed out of the vines as quickly as she could manage, shooting a large pillar of ice at the weakened Kirakishou and causing her to fall again.

"How dare you toy with her like that," she roared as she took the pillar of ice back. "How dare you, Kirakishou!"

"My body," Kirakishou wheezed out mournfully, running her fingers over the large crack the shears had made. "The vessel Hina-Ichigo made…is so weak…"

The chaos was interrupted as a bright light filled the entire area around them. From Souseiseki's visibly damaged body emerged her Rosa Mystica, causing Kirakishou's eyes to widen in delight. This victory had put another fire in Kirakishou despite her injuries, allowing her to slam into Suiseiseki as she tried to grab her fallen twin's soul.

"This was won by me, Suiseiseki," Kirakishou reminded her, placing her hands against her cheeks in satisfaction. "Do not bend the rules our father created…"

The Rosa Mystica did not obey Suiseiseki's reaching hands. Instead, it swiftly moved into Kirakishou's chest, creating a bright light that blinded the weakened dolls for a second time.

"Damn it!" Yuki-Koori cursed, feeling her body ache as her own Rosa Mystica burned brightly in her chest. A reminder that one of her sister's was gone, even if she had witnessed it just moments ago. "Souseiseki…"

"This power," Kirakishou sighed dreamily, her body drifting upwards. "I can't take it…It's amazing…my body feels so light…"

Yuki-Koori looked towards the tearful Suiseiseki and angry looking Sekihi, pulling them close. Even if they weren't talking, they knew exactly what the other was thinking.

Kirakishou had them cornered. Right where she wanted them.

* * *

Being surrounded by so many books had never made Fumiko feel as trapped as it did at this moment.

Though her library cleaning had been halted for a few weeks while she reentered the human world and met with her sisters, she had decided to take what little time she had now and finish it up. Somewhere between sections E and F, she had become tired and sat down among the stacks of dusty, old books. That's when she had felt a tremendous amount of pain in her chest, caused by what she assumed to be her Rosa Mystica.

"One of my sisters…" Fumiko wheezed out, clutching her chest. "What happened…Bekanntheit?"

Bekanntheit was blinking worriedly beside her, its words sputtered and unintelligible. It knew that Fumiko would be incredibly upset to hear that another one of her sisters had fallen victim to Kirakishou, and three of her sisters were about to become her next targets.

"Bekanntheit!" Fumiko snapped irritably, sitting up despite the pain in her chest. "Stop sputtering and tell me what happened!"

'_T-The fourth doll decided to fight the Alice Game, mistress,' _the spirit mumbled weakly. _'Her twin, Yuki-Koori, and Sekihi went to save her, but Souseiseki became the seventh's doll's victim.'_

Fumiko threw her hand against her head in frustration. Not only did she lose the chance to make amends with Souseiseki, but the lives of three of her sisters, including Yuki-Koori, were in grave danger at the hands of Kirakishou.

"I have to go now," Fumiko whispered shakily, standing up and shoving books out of her way as she ran towards the exit. "I have to…tell them I'm coming, Bekanntheit!"

Fumiko did not know what her presence would do to stop Kirakishou, but she knew she had to try and save her sisters. A large rifle materialized in her left hand before she realized it, but it mattered little to her now.

She had to distract Kirakishou.

**A/N: Oh, wow, an actual cliffhanger, I think. Oh wow times two, I actually got the chapter out in less than a month. I wanted to include one last bit of filler before I dove right into more killing, so Kanaria's house was the perfect place to do it. Then I killed off Souseiseki. Whoops.**

**It actually was difficult, deciding what should happen to her. I wanted to actually have her fight someone instead of give up her Rosa Mystica to Suigintou after giving Suiseiseki the 'like a mirror' speech. But I have something else big planned for Suigintou and Shinku, so I decided to have Kirakishou play with her a little bit before killing her. I suppose it was easy, since Souseiseki was probably thrown incredibly off guard by her sisters being there, especially Suiseiseki.**

**Hina-Ichigo's body material did not create a stable vessel for Kirakishou, however, so she's suffering some pretty intense injuries. But, she does have a second Rosa Mystica now. **

**Kaboom. Intensity. **

**Thank you to Scarlet (hope you enjoyed it over here in America!) and James Birdsong for the two reviews, again! I appreciate any feedback on this story, critical or positive! **


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